


Rhiannon

by regnumveritatis



Series: There is no such thing as "too much Luke/Rey"! [1]
Category: Sabrina (1954), Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), Star Wars Legends - All Media Types
Genre: 1950s Slang, Alternate Universe - 1950s, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bereavement hallucinations, Bigotry & Prejudice, Broadway References, Catholic Imagery, Childhood Friends, Cinderella Elements, Cinnamon Roll Poe, Cinnamon Roll Rey, Declarations Of Love, Disney References, Dust Bowl, Eventual Happy Ending, F/M, Fairy Tale Elements, Families of Choice, Gay Poe Dameron, Good Parent Han Solo, Good Parent Leia Organa, Great Depression, Historical References, Human C-3PO, Human Chewbacca, Inspired by a Movie, Internalized Homophobia, Italy, Korean War, Literary References & Allusions, Loss of Parent(s), Luke Skywalker Deserves Better, May/December Relationship, Mental Institutions, Misogyny, Mythology References, Older Man/Younger Woman, Paris (City), Past Mara Jade/Luke Skywalker - Freeform, Past Padmé Amidala/Anakin Skywalker, Period-Typical Homophobia, Period-Typical Racism, Poverty, Protective Poe Dameron, References to Depression, Rey Needs A Hug, Rogue Squadron, Romantic Gestures, Sad Luke, Secret Organizations, Spanish Civil War, Unrequited Crush, Widowed, Young Rey, writing is cheaper than therapy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-13
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2018-12-30 05:14:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 40,324
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12101505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regnumveritatis/pseuds/regnumveritatis
Summary: The Sabrina/ Star Wars AU that no one asked for but I couldn't get out of my mind.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [An Illusion in Our Hands](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5705458) by [j_gabrielle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/j_gabrielle/pseuds/j_gabrielle). 



> To my beloved readers: I'm so so sorry for delaying my stories this long. Like the rest of Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria has left me with no light, water, internet or telephonic services since September 14. Please know I intend to finish every one of my fanfics and will post the new chapters of "Strengthened by Bitterness", "Breathe" & "Twilight sees all" as soon as I can.

New York, 1938

Mommy and Daddy had been sick for a long time, so long Rhiannon Kryze couldn't remember when she'd last seen either of them in truly good health. Times were hard, jobs were even harder to keep. So Mom and Dad shushed all complaints about how their hands hurt, hid how their eyesight was failing, packed extra handkerchiefs to conceal their blood-stained coughs. It hadn't mattered in the end, mister Snoke fired both of them after a nameless employee ratted Korkie and his wife Pilar Kryze for fear of contracting whatever disease was sucking the life out of them.

Things managed to turn worse afterwards. Everyone dig in became we're not hungry right now sweetie. A trip to Coney island went from treat to impossibility. Worst of all mommy and daddy couldn't get out of bed anymore. Mom stopped talking on the tenth bed-ridden day, she fell asleep and didn't wake up. The rise and fall of her chest were the only indicator that Pilar Kryze nee Ramirez clung to life until one day even that ceased. Neighbors brought them a wooden coffin and buried Mommy in the old cemetery next to Grandma and Grandpa. Daddy is all she has left and he can't stand up long enough to give her a hug. When Mr. Krennic got evicted the six-year old girl started bringing her father old watches she found in the garbage. He'd fix them so she could sell them in the streets after school. Unaware his daughter had declared war on the truant officer whilst scouring the city for every penny available. Or maybe he was aware of it and decided their time together was too valuable to waste on petty squabbles. Rhiannon Kryze believed the doctor when he'd said nothing was wrong, trusting as only a child would. Korkie Kryze had told her to fetch the nickels and dimes storing jar bought in the old days, before the Wall Street crash, before all it went wrong and thanked him for not breaking his daughter's beautiful heart.

Daddy taught her everything he knew about fixing watches, jewelry and even talked to her on how to manage cars. Her father's voice calmed Rhiannon's fears as his arms went limp, as his breathing turned raspy. Halfway through a retelling of the Welsh mythology he had used to name his daughter Korkie Kryze's voice stopped as he entered the gates of inmortality. Police men broke down the door two days later when someone filed a complaint regarding an unidentified foul stench coming from the apartment. They gasped upon the sight of the little girl fiercely embracing her father's corpse, kissing the grey slack of his lips and asking him to please, please finish the story. Brute Force was necessary to remove the child from the withering remains of her parent.

The social worker failed to pronounce her name correctly so she informed him mommy had called her Rey, King in Spanish. He somehow managed to pronounce the nickname incorrectly as well, mouthing a where it should have been e in the sobriquet as he sent her to the orphanage. She hates every adult in the orphanage, hates the moldy food and most of all she hates the fake lamentations. "They're watching over you in Heaven" the grown-ups told her, every gaze brimmed with self-satisfying pity. She didn't want or need their pity, if anything she was tired of everyone confusing pity with compassion. Kept sending those idiotic sighs as if feeling sorry for her was a magical solution for her problems. Father Kenobi was the sole comfort of her life, the only grown-up that actually spoke to her as an equal. The old priest declared her a genius after she'd fixed Sister Tano's old music box, the first compliment she'd been given since Daddy. It was Father Kenobi who arranged for the Skywalker family to take her on as an assistant to their chauffeur Lor San Tekka. He accompanied her as she walked all the way from Brooklyn to the north shore of Long Island.

When setting eyes upon the Skywalker Manor the little girl immediately thought she'd been taken to a castle. To a girl accustomed to dirty buildings and smog-coated houses the pristine mansion seemed like a dream. A wonderful dream castle where the air was always clean & no one was sick, sad or starving. Father Kenobi smiled wistfully at her awe-struck gaze, shortly after he knocks firmly on the large mahogany doors. Her ideas of a fairytale land are reinforced by the giant calling himself Chewie that welcomes them in, of course all fantasy kingdoms must have a friendly magical creature. Employing one for a mechanic is quite ingenious of the castle keepers. A dwarf lady Chewie calls Maz hands her a small plate with cookies while the butler Mr. Threepio runs off to fetch "the young master". Though for some reason he also insisted Chewie had to take a bath. 

Father Kenobi places his hand on her shoulder."Now, little one it's very important you make a good impression on Mr. Skywalker. So when he arrives no eating fingernails, nose picking or anything that will convince him you're rude and unprofessional."  


"How can I be professional? I'm seven years old."

"Youngling...Here he comes. Keep your back straight, don't slouch."

The first image that comes to mind when she sees Luke Skywalker in his tailored suit and bowtie is the prince in the Cartoon movie her schoolmate Adam had helped her sneak in to watch. The one who sang his heart out to the princess forced to wear rags by the Evil Queen. His eyes sparkle just like the Prince's did when he kissed the dove in the movie. Oh dearest ruler and Monarch please, oh please let me live here.

"Well, go on child. Say your dues."

"It's an honor to be here your Majesty."

Father Kenobi smacks his hand on his head so hard it leaves a red mark. He doesn't allow Mr. Threepio to put a warm cloth on his forehead, like the rest of the household his only current interest is the fate of the young girl he brought to the Skywalker Manor. The servants all stay quiet as mice, holding their breaths in wait for the young master's reaction. The old priest takes out his rosary, Chewie bites his lip and two little boys Rey hadn't noticed before, one dark-skinned and the other not quite fair cross their fingers for good luck.

Then all of a sudden a laugh echoes through the halls, a rich and hearty chuckle that makes the Prince's golden hair shine and his pale blue eyes dance. Everyone turns towards the source, revealing the most beautiful woman in the entire world. Her tress is red elegantly dipped in gold, her skin is porcelain, her eyes are twin emeralds that reflect an unyielding love towards the Monarch. Love demonstrated by the small circlets around both of their fingers. This is the uncontested Princess Consort, the Noble Lady of the House. Rey curtsies to the gorgeous deity before her.

"Oh gentle Princess let me serve you."

She smiles and it's like a Lily flower opening it's petals.

"Would you like to work for us?"

Yes my lady. It'd be an honor." 

"The honor is ours sweet girl, welcome to our humble abode. Stay as long as you like."

His Highness offers the Lady his arm, she takes it and shakes her head in good nature. Everyone lets out a unaminous cry of relief as Luke and Mara Skywalker leave to attend a social event Poe and Finn didn't catch the name of. Years later the household will recall with a heavy heart how that evening was the last time they saw the young master smile, truly smile as only a man in love is capable of. Unbeknownst to them halfway to the event a drunk driver's reckless actions would steal the life from Mara Jade Skywalker and with the good lady died also the joyous warmth of her husband's heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hands out tin cup: comments please????


	2. Chapter 2

September, 1946

When Finnegan Calrissian first arrived at the steps of Cornell University folks thought he was either a rich gentleman from Europe or Anakin Solo's illegitimate half-breed sibling from some black whore Mister Solo fucked during his bachelor years. Those were the only acceptable explanations for all the fifth-generation freshmen whose grandparents probably turned in their graves upon hearing the news that a negro was studying in their beloved Ivy League College. Neither Finn nor Anakin knew where the half-breed train of thought had emerged until their roommate, a less bigoted student called Snap explained that around here black youths didn't bunk with whites. A brief inquiry showed that Anakin's uncle had called in a favor so his nephew could 'enjoy familiar company'.

"Thank God for Luke Skywalker, right Finn."

"Mister Solo, I'm just grateful to study. Dad says I'm the first Calrissian to be accepted into College."

"Finn, we've been having this conversation since I was 4: you don't have to address me like that."

The earnest tone Anakin carries in his voice tempts Finn to yield at the simple request, to let the young master speak to him as he would a friend but the worn leather of Finn's hand-me-down suitcase draws him back to reality. When Anakin Solo, born in the Regency Room of Skywalker Manor graduates from business school he'll contribute to a family legacy and marry an heiress who'll give him a claim to even more money. When Finn Calrissian, who was born & adopted out of Harlem by a father whose affection none could deny but also made it clear his adoption came with a job graduates he'll take over the aging Lando Calrissian's duties as head landscaper. Anakin is still viewing the world through a child's eyes and a privileged child's eyes at that, Finn chose to work at Skywalker Manor because he preferred what he thought would be indentured servitude to the gnawing pangs of hunger. 

Anakin Solo is not his equal and Jacen & Jaina Solo aren't either, if anything Finn's current living arrangements prove he continues to fulfill a secondary purpose Han Solo bestowed upon him decades ago: he's a companion to ease transitions, an unofficial Teddy bear for a brood of children that already grew up. And Finn's okay with it, cause he's believed for a while now that everyone rich wants to use somebody for something and as far as using people goes the Skywalker-Solo family at least feels a sense of responsibility to those they use. They've used him to keep three children happy, now his father will use them to give the child they granted him an Ivy League Education. Such is the way of the world.

"Get some rest Mister Solo, you have a class at 7 am."

May, 1950

The subway's a lot busier than he remembers. It didn't feel this crowded whenever Dad and him took the 4 am train so they could buy Mistress Leia's tiger lily bulbs. _Maybe I should have taken Anakin's offer to drive me home._ After graduation young Solo had declared his intentions to dance the night away with half of the female student body. That was unsurprising, what left Finn shocked was the young master's promise to perform beautifully as a wingman after dinner. Both men ended up leaving restaurants three times when waiters kept seating Finn on areas where he'd be out-of-sight for the majority of other diners. After the fourth try they gave up and went to Dex's for a greasy meal that livened their spirits once again. The dancing part of the plan went through more smoothly, Anakin somehow managed to convince girls from all walks of life that Finn was a suitable dancing partner. Some of the girls exclaimed they'd never danced with a negro and laughed after saying their old man would probably kill them if he walked in right now. Definitely a memorable experience, one he can't wait to tell Poe and Rey.

 _If I_   _ever_ _find them, that is._ Forty-five minutes after disembarking the subway Finn is no closer to finding either of them than he was when he arrived. He'd always thought Poe and Rey stood out amongst the bustling crowds but the crowds he'd remembered were never quite this _**loud.**_ Forces depleted, the young man rests his feet on a public bench clutching his suitcase so tightly his palms sweat. The station's clock is yet to ring when suddenly a calloused hand taps Finn on the shoulder.

"Excuse me Sir, could you please help us? My sister and I are looking for our best friend: he's a goofy, lovable young man with no fashion sense whatsoever. Have you seen him?"

Pascual Ovidio Ezequiel (Poe for short) Damerón has slight crinkles around his eyes, laugh lines that demonstrate the merriment he holds for life. Tiny scars lie scattered across the bulk of his arms, long-faded cuts and bruises obtained in work that he doesn't bother to hide but other than that his brother in all save blood hasn't changed a bit. Rey is an entirely different story: Finn left behind an adorable kid that was all knees and elbows, dancing to the Andrew Sisters in her oil-stained flower dress Maz kept trying to dump but never could. He came to a teenage dolly* so fair that he can't believe Jacen Solo hasn't added her to his string of broken hearts. (Must be the fact she's still covered in motor grease.)

"Poe! Come here and give me a hug. Oh yeah, nobody hugs like you. Little girl king: look at you. You're as pretty as a magnolia in may. Happy I'm back?"

"I really missed you Finn, Poe's become such a wet rag* ever since Mistress Leia appointed him as her personal assistant."

The afore-mentioned man immediately objects to Rey's barb and declares that he is a naturally fun person. Rhiannon 'Rey' Kryze responds by challenging both men to a race towards the car. She won by a landslide, Finn was too busy wheezing to call Rey a cheater. The ride back home was completely void of quiet thanks to Rey's bubbly narration of the past four years. Every once in a while Poe would add something to the conversation but otherwise he was content to let Rey talk Finn's ears out. The Skywalker Manor hadn't changed a bit since he left: it was almost like he'd never left at all. Lor San Tekka is still out buffing the 34' Chrysler, father is singing whilst trimming the deceased Mistress Padme's beloved pear trees. (Rey explained that dad hurt his arm and Mister Solo was forced to find a temporary replacement. From the looks of it dad's still fixing their mess). Even the goldfish named George is still swimming peacefully in his small garden pool. It's not until Finn is unpacking that he finds a change: Poe removing sealed envelopes from under his bed.

"Is that for Mistress Leia?"

"No, these are for some friends of Mister Luke's that are coming tonight."

"What kind of friends? Work friends? Old school mates? Buddies from the Second World War?"

"The kind my parents hug upon arrival but don't tell anything about."

Like Finn; Poe also owed everything to the Skywalker-Solo family but his was a link forged amidst blood, gunpowder and above all secrecy. According to Poe his family was shouting "No Pasaran!!" in Madrid one day and boarding the ship to America with Luke & Leia Skywalker, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian and the ill-fated Mara Jade the next.

Fragments of the hush-hush past revealed themselves over the years, tidbits of information the previous generation let slip or failed to hide: Poe's mother and Mistress Leia had been recruited to "Mujeres Libres"* by Federica Montseny herself. Han Solo and his Russian friend Chewbacca (it's odd to think of Chewie as anything other than the family mechanic) smuggled weapons for the Republic. A hidden compartment in Mistress Mara's wardrobe held a baroque dagger (which Rey called the Queen's dagger) & Beretta M1934 wrapped in a Falange party banner. Mismatched pieces to a untold saga they could only guess at or spin wild stories about to conclude mysteries all three of them desperately wanted to unveil. From the looks of it Poe is being handed the keys to uncover the mystery piece by piece, maybe soon he and Rey will have their share of truths revealed as well. Once he unpacks Finn dons a 'waiter' uniform to serve in the party which Mister Han and Mistress held annually on the eve of the annual six-meter-yacht races Long Island residents loved so much. He and the rest of the household laugh when the rookie waiter expresses concern that rain spoil the food since there's no tent on the tables. It was well-known that it never rained on the night of the Skywalker-Solo party. The family wouldn't have stood for it. As kids he, Poe and Rey would watch the festivities from 'the best seat in the house' a.k.a the tallest tree in the Manor. Just when he's about to check if Rey is gazing over tonight he's interrupted by what Finn considers the most irritating voice ever to come from the shores of Great Britain.

“Finnegan! How delightful to have you back with us.”

 _Andrew Threepio: all these years and you still can't understand_   _I prefer_   _Finn?_  “It’s a pleasure to be back home Mister Threepio.”

“Wonderful! It’s so good to have proper help back. Those fellows from Minneapolis were abysmally rude….”

Finn blocks out the rest of the old butler’s overly dramatic monologue in which Threepio moans ‘the new generation’s lack of manners’. _Rey, Poe and_ _I have_ _that speech memorized._ He’s forced to suppress a laugh at the memory of their 'little girl king' artfully repeating the words of it whilst he and Poe mimicked Threepio with exaggerated hand gestures. The old butler caught them in the act, his face transformed by sheer indignation. Night's cloak actually made the man look creepy (if a kid might have an opinion.)

Remembering the pain from that embarrassing ear-drag said butler delivered to them ensures Finn has no laugh to suppress anymore, facilitating his task as he carries tray after tray. Master Luke had woken up cause of the racket, had come out in his striped pajamas and blue robe demanding to know the situation. The two boys’ minds concocted all sort of horrible scenarios, wishing they’d woken up Master Han who enrolled all three of em’ at the same school Jacen and Jaina went even though they were just servant’s kids (In Rey’s case the servant’s assistant which made her situation more precarious because she had no long-loyal parent to vouch for her.) or Mistress Leia who always gave them hot Cocoa on Christmas. Not Mister Luke who'd locked himself up for a whole week after his wife's funeral and kept eyeing the balcony window like he wanted to jump. (Mister Threepio put bars on all the balconies until Mister Luke left to fight the Nazis in 39' once Finn told that to the old butler) 'We're dead meat' had been the general consensus in two little boys's heads, it never crossed the mind of the scrawny orphan beside them.

To their eternal gratitude Mister Luke let them go without any punishment. True to his word neither Lor San Tekka, Finn's dad or Poe's folks were informed of their misbehavior. Rey yawned halfway through her thanks, Master Luke surprised them even further by asking 'the lady' permission to care her over to bed. He'd picked her up so gently a stranger would have thought Luke was the servant and Rey the young Mistress of the house. Tucked her into bed with a feather-light grasp and smiled (the first time he'd smiled in months) when a drowsy Rey muttered 'good night your Majesty'. After that Finn and Poe came to an unshakable conclusion: all the fan magazines were wrong about Mister Luke Skywalker. The widowed heir (then heir, now CEO) of Skywalker Airlines wasn't 'dead inside' or 'a cold-hearted snake'. Mister Luke had a good heart, he just didn't want to pretend he was happy in front of snooty rich people that only cared about his wealth or the nosebleed* society columns that kept pressuring him to remarry.

Said man continues to prove that idea right when upon seeing Finn he takes the tray off his arms and tells the young man to enjoy himself, claiming you only graduate once. Then Luke goes inside to talk with a fidgety but kind- looking man who seem Middle Eastern by origin. Poe shakes the Arabic? gentleman's hand as a Latin- American? guy, a heavily-armed guy and a hazel-eyed lady in army pants! sit beside Mister Luke. The woman nods her head, shortly after Poe closes the door and shuts the windows.

Finn's gut tells him he wasn't supposed to see any of those people (especially since one of them looked Russian) so he races out of there A.S.A.P. In a flash the young man runs to his room, changes out of uniform and heads to his favorite spying place where Rey is already waiting for him. Her eyes seem a lot sadder than they have any right to be. A quick scan of the environment shows the cause of her dismay: Jacen Solo is dancing rather enthusiastically with a gorgeous woman whose earrings alone **definitely** cost more than half of Rey or Finn's wardrobe.

"She must be a real ditz. Look how she giggles all the time, I loathe girls that giggle all the time."

"You hate every girl that catches Jacen's eye."

"No I don't!! He had a huge crush on Poe's mother because of her cooking skills and I've never hated her for it."

Rey's impossible love for the Skywalker-Solo heir began when she was eight and Jacen was twelve going on thirteen. All because of Mistress Jaina's rolling skates: Jacen saw Rey pretending to skate with a pair of shoes she'd 'rescued from the trash, she'd added cotton balls and painted them black with dried ink she watered. Finn watched as Young Master Jacen sneaked up on Rey and asked what she was doing. The young Master instructed the little girl king to wait right there as he raced into the house. He came back with Mistress Jaina's brand-new roller skates and told her 'try them on' as if they weren't the most expensive toy Rhiannon had ever touched, let alone played with. Jacen put on his pair and placed his arms around Rey as he taught her how to skate. Then suddenly the young Master turned and pressed his lips to tiny Rhiannon's. The kiss which rendered her hopelessly on the hook* with Jacen Solo. 

Finn dolefully watches Jacen choose a bottle of champagne and put two glasses in his back pocket. They've seen this scenario play out so many times they can predict what comes next with their eyes closed: Jacen leads this week's 'love of my life' to the indoor tennis court, orders the band to play "As Time Goes By" and comes in with champagne to woo her. They've seen it all a billion times, the only variations being hair color, stature and eye pigmentation of the chosen lady for the night. But this nameless girl alters the rules when she shouts Duw Dywedwch* as Jacen steps on her foot while dancing, because whatever that means causes Rey to hop out the tree and cry. _That's it, no more of this. The vicious cycle stops here and now._  
 

The next day (with the help of Anakin and Poe) Finn convinces Han and Leia that Rey would be an enormous help to Mistress Jaina in her Paris internship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *"Mujeres Libres" was a women's anarchist organization fighting for both women's liberation and social revolution founded in 1936. They refused to call themselves feminists because of the term's association with conservative bourgeoisie women. These women created their own branch of female militia which fought on the Republican side of the Spanish Civil War, though all the while they insisted on maintaining autonomy from male anarchist groups.  
> *Dolly: a cute girl  
> *Wet rag: someone who's no fun at all, kill-joy.  
> *Nosebleed: stupid beyond belief.  
> *On the hook: in love  
> *Duw Dywedwch: God damn it in Welsh.  
> Hands out tin cup: Comments please????  
> Know I listen to every suggestion you guys make so feel free to say what you like, what you don't like, where you see grammatical errors. Also posting and editing chapters is a lot harder than it used to be since most of Puerto Rico has 'black hole' zones with no internet connection or phone signals (the draft for the first chapter of "Rhiannon" nearly got deleted cause I couldn't post it until it was literally hours away from the erasing deadline. The 4th chapter to "Breathe" was erased accidentally by my little sister in the frenzy of the first Post-Maria week and my computer stopped working so I can't access the back-up draft I'd stored in my laptop.) so I would really appreciate some feedback to boost my spirits.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Happy Thanksgiving everybody!!! Here's something for the ReyWalker fans to be thankful for.

June 22, 1950 (Rey's POV)

Rey holds her father's Saint Michael rosary, clasping the silk-thread glass beads close to her heart as she waits for Obi-Wan Kenobi. By God's unending providence the old priest had been transferred to Long Island when she was fourteen. With Father Kenobi only twenty walking minutes away Rhiannon had finally found a clergy member whose integrity she was indubitably sure of, which allowed her to take confession without the fear of her chosen confidant turning her over on false charges of Communism like they did to Mr and Mrs. Dameron's friends in California. (President Truman's wrong: A democracy does not always equal justice or fair treatment, if it did then mother and father would have been entitled to medical attention or at least the means to pay a proper doctor while there was time.....) She hears the door of the confessional booth close and the scent of Father Kenobi's cologne reaches her.

"Bless me father, for I have sinned. I've committed a most grave misconduct on part of my soul."

"Dear child, the last time you said that your  _grave misconduct  _was lying to Leia Skywalker when she asked if you and Finn ate the swedish princess cake Maz baked for her brother's party."

"That was six years ago Father Kenobi, a child's grievance. Trust me when I tell you this is far worse than a missing pastry." _Luke never eats birthday cake anyhow. He takes a b_ _ite, gives his thanks and then he says he 'd rather eat in his room but what he really does is lower his full plate on the dumbwaiter where Finn, Poe and I gorge ourselves on whatever culinary masterpiece Master Skywalker refuses to enjoy--_

 _"_ And just is what is your sin my child?"

"Ingratitude towards the Skywalker-Solo family."

"But I thought you loved it there."

"I do. Father Kenobi: I'm so grateful you brought me there."

"But?..."

"Mistress Leia wants me to go to Paris with her daughter."

"That's quite an opportunity Rhiannon. You'd be a fool not to seize it."

"I don't want to go to Paris. The only reason I'm being sent is cause Finn thinks it will erase my love for Jacen." 

Rey's never understood why Finn, Poe and Lor San Tekka all frown shamelessly on her unrequited love towards Jacen Solo. The man hadn't done anything to them in his whole life yet three of the most important men in her life refused to see him in a way even remotely positive. Finn called her love an obsession, Poe said she was reaching for the moon and Lor San Tekka shook his head mournfully at her crush. But Maz's response was definitely the most disrespectful: the old woman the gall to tell her that if she wanted to date a decent man with loads of money then she should just court Master Luke, claiming Rey's sensitive nature was better suited for the CEO than the family heir.  _It was disrespectful to Luke as well as me. How could she assume His Majesty's love would ever stray when the first thing he does in the morning is kiss his beloved Mara's picture? Did she think I'd chase after him because Luke has more money? I'm not a gold digger and Luke's not desperate for female companionship._

After what seems an eternity she hears Father Kenobi's voice. "Rhiannon, I may not know the particulars of you and Jacen but I do know a bit about romantic love."

"But you're a priest."

"Contrary to your belief, I was not born wearing a collar and reciting Agnus Dei."

"Forgive me."

"There's nothing to forgive. Would you take some advice from an old man?"

"I would welcome it Father."

"Romantic love's a tricky thing; most believe true love is the act of giving yourself wholly to another. While said action is very important it is lacking a very important element: balance between sacrifice for your loved one and the retention of individuality."

"So you think me going to Paris would ensure I keep my sense of self-belonging?"

"I think you should travel to broaden your horizons, paying little heed to how this gift was obtained. After all when God grants us a blessing we don't ask how or why it was sent." 

The good priest has her say two Ave Maria for the sake of pondering more than penitence. Rey carefully places her father's rosary on her purse, not wanting to break one of the few physical things she has left of him. She'd had to pry the rosary out of his hands when the police separated them forever. Almost everything in their tiny apartment was declared 'contaminated' by the tuberculosis that squeezed the life out of daddy. New York's Health Department called young Rey a living miracle because she wasn't sick after such a long period of prolonged contact with him, Father Kenobi told her Korkie Kryze's love was the driving force behind said miracle and that was her favorite explanation. Heavy rain outside delays her leaving Church so she takes out her copy of Warren B. Boast's Principles of Electrical and Magnetic Fields*, jealous of the college graduate who threw it in the trash after his semester ended. Easy for him to throw education away so carelessly, MIT can house boys without a problem.*

"Any chance that book tells you how to convince two nephews that enlisting is a horrible idea?"

She turns towards the voice and Rey smiles when she sees Luke Skywalker standing right behind her. The man doesn't make any misogynistic comments upon seeing the title of her book, she's grateful for that. Rhiannon already got into trouble for punching a boy in high school who proclaimed such studies were a waste of time cause she'd never be more than a maid, Rey's not looking for another punishment but she knows her temper has a mind of its own. (If anything the look on his face leads Rey to believe he's impressed with her. Luke thinks she's smart and Poe says he called her pretty once. Why can't his nephew see her that way?)

"Rey? Are you all right?"

"Oh yes, I'm fine your Majesty. I was just lost in thought."

"You ever gonna tell me why you chose to call me that?"

"No, it's much too fun seeing you wonder what it means."

"If you tell me I'll give you a ride home."

"It'd be terribly rude to buy someone's secrets in Church your Majesty. What would Mistress Padmé say?"

Mister Luke pretends to be furious that she used the memory of his mother against him but the mischievous glint of his eyes betrays that he's amused by her. Most people are afraid to tease Luke for reasons she can't quite place, no one in the Skywalker household is afraid of him. Every company employee Rey's met says they'd never worked for a kinder boss yet reporters and other CEOs all claim he's cold and unfeeling. (Personally Rey thinks Luke's behavior to those people is completely justified since the only time she met one of his business associates Rush Clovis subtlety insulted Mistress Leia for having such a prominent role in the family company and treated Threepio like dirt.) The man escorts her to his 36' Chrysler and opens the door for her like a gentleman.

"Thanks for the ride Mister Skywalker."

"No problem Rey. I hear you're accompanying Jaina to Paris tomorrow. Pack your bags yet?"

"Yes, I've prepared myself for the trip. I just hope Mistress Jaina doesn't get bored with me after the first day."

"Don't worry: you're far interesting for that Rhiannon."

 _If this were a movie I'd cry happy tears right now because someone unbiased said that I was interesting._ "Do you really mean that your Majesty?"

"Of course I do. What kind of Monarch would I be if I lied to a faithful vassal?"

She doesn't tell him that her self-confidence is greatly boosted by the commentary he'll probably forget come morning. Instead she expresses her thanks by adding an extra coat of wax to his favorite car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Principles of Electrical and Magnetic Fields  
> Warren B. Boast, Ph.D. - Professor of Electical Engineering Iowa State College  
> Published by Harper & Brother's, New York.  
> 1948\. The book was used in MIT, Rutgers and Stanford until 1955 for the engineering program.  
> The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) was the first college to accept women into the engineering program. It had graduated its first female student, Ellen Swallow Richards (1842–1911) in 1873; she later became an instructor at MIT. However, until the 1960s, MIT enrolled few female engineering students, due in part to a lack of housing for women students.  
> Hands out tin cup: comments pleaseeeee??? I'd really appreciate if someone took the time to point out their suggestions, likes or dislikes in this story.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A million thanks to everyone who's read, left kudos and/or and commented so far.

April 30, 1951

"Rhiannon."  _Oh dear Mistress Jaina's using my name. Please God don't let be me be in trouble. I haven't done anything wrong... that I know of._

"Here I am Mistress Jaina. Was the mint tea not to your satisfaction?"

"It was lovely. Everything you do is lovely, that's the problem."

"Miss I don't understand-"

"Rey: we've been here for a whole year and in that time your behavior has been that of a perfect maid and **nothing**  even remotely similar to a nineteen year old girl who's arrived in Paris. Normal girls go sight-seeing or write nonsense in journals while sipping coffee in a bistro. You wake up, make me a breakfast fit for Marie Antoniette, leave the _actual_  maid without anything to do and then you read in your room- which by the way is still packed up and ready to go. Care to tell me why you seem determined to go home as quickly as possible?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"I'm worried that if I stay here too long someone will forget about me."

"My brother can't forget somebody who doesn't exist to him."

Lesser girls might cry at that callous declaration but 'Rey' Rhiannon Kryze considers herself above such barbs. Mistress Jaina's comment is one reprimand amidst thousands of insults and unlike most of them Miss Solo's quip harbored no ill-wish. Rey didn't cry or shout when the Social Worker thoughtlessly called her mother and father dirty immigrants who should stayed in their respective countries, she won't weep now because a silly heiress claimed her love would never amount to anything other than nightly excursions to the tree where she saw the Skywalker family's lavish parties. 

"Rey: I'm enrolling you in Le Cordon Bleu*."

"Cooking school? With all due respect Miss Jaina I cook just fine."

"I'm not doing it cause I hate your recipes, it's to hide where you'll be taking night classes. Not cause I mind, it's to protect my mother's reputation."

"And where would that be Miss Jaina?"

"Mademoiselle Kryze as of tomorrow you will attend the École Polytechnique* of Paris."

Propriety is flung out of the nearest window as Rey throws herself at her benefactor, hugging the young woman so tightly she taps her back to indicate breathing is difficult.  _Father Kenobi was right: Paris is presenting me with new opportunities._ Rey takes all her clothes out of the travelling bag Mister Threepio gifted her for the trip, stating her old leather suitcase was 'unfit for New York, let alone Paris'. After a brief revision she finds her best dress and smooths out the wrinkles, following that she polishes her best shoes. She goes to sleep a chauffeur's assistant and wakes up a college student. Not surprisingly, the men at her class outnumber the women. A few of them stare rudely at Rey and the other female students, their eyes screaming "You don't belong here!!!" with no effort to hide the festering contempt within. Fortunately the head of the Program, Monsieur Windu cares very little about 'gender inferiority' and a bit too much about the 'no-fraternizing' rule set by the university. On her second class at engineering school Professor Yoda has them apply the math learned on the previous day to a 1920s Ford. Some of her fellow classmates try to sabotage Rey's work but unlike most of these people Rhiannon has spent nearly all her childhood under a car so she's quick to spot whatever they 'misplace'. When the time's up Professor Yoda declares her 'so-so'. Her fists clench and she mentally strangles the doddering old man who was too slow to notice how half the class tried to ruin her project.   

"You must be patient with Professor Yoda. He's a staunch traditionalist but his heart's in the right place. You needn't worry about those ruffians, in two or three years you'll outshine them all.."

 _Oh, an old man. Why can't the nice ones ever be close to my age?_ "I'll be sure to remember that, thank you sir."

"Of course you might have worked a bit faster if your mind wasn't elsewhere. I've been watching watching you mademoiselle and my old age grants me the opportunity at an educated guess to the cause of your mental straying: You're in love, I'd venture a step further and say you're unhappily in love."

"Does it show?"

"Transparently: a woman happily in love works quickly in order to return with her lover. A woman unhappily in love works slower because she has no joyous embrace to welcome her. Am I correct?"

"Yes, but I'm trying to get over it."

"And why is that necessary? You speak of love like it was a bad cough."

"It's a lost cause Sir."

"Oh. And what makes you think that?"

"He doesn't know I exist. I might as well be reaching for the moon."

"Fancy that: a revolutionary woman spouting an old fashioned phrase. Haven't you heard: Werner Von Braun is working on rockets that will take us to the moon... To begin with you must looking like a horse."

 "Horse?" She touches the back of her head, feels her ponytail and laughs.

                                                                    Ext. Skywalker Manor Garage- Day (Poe's POV)

Finn holds Rey's newest latter and reads it out loud to the staff. "His name is Count Jean-Louis Dooku.”

Both Finn and Poe's faces brighten upon hearing of Count Dooku and the possibility that Rey might be moving on with another man, disillusionment follows when the next sentence in her letter reveals he is 79 nearing 80 years old, dashing their hopes that she'd fall in love with the aristocrat she describes as 'eloquent, sweet in his own way and very wise'. The whole staff sighs in discontent though they perk up when Rey's letter regales them with tales of the Count's adventurous son Qui-Gon who takes photos for the National Geographic magazine and his daughter who broke female conventions of 'womanly interest' by becoming a professional fencing teacher. According to Rhiannon the only time she ever saw the woman in a dress was at a charity ball for the Red Cross and even then Asajj had a knife hidden in her very-fashionable purse. Of course the good mood is ruined when Rey inquires if Jacen received the package she and Mistress Jaina prepared for the Solo Brothers, nonetheless they are so focused on Rey's letter that nobody notices Luke Skywalker walking up to them.

 "Good Morning."

The servants all say their greetings to the Master of the Household, taking care not to cause any stress on him. Master Skywalker hasn't enjoyed a moment of true relaxation since both his nephews were deployed to fight the 'Commie bastards' on North Korea. To make matters worse Mister Luke's been criticized for for supporting local farmers over their much-cheaper foreign competition in the agricultural part of the company ever since farm prices came under pressure by consumers demanding lower food prices on account of the war. (It's times like this that make Poe glad he'll never be in charge of a multi-million dollar company.) Lor San Tekka is in the hospital. A punk named Kylo Ren stabbed the old man in the chest, barely missing his heart and lung. The lousy mouth-breather's justification was the fact Lor had always been a conscientious objector, as if hating bloodshed inherently meant you were a traitor to your country. While Lor San Tekka recovers Poe and Chewie take turns driving Master Luke and Mistress Leia, it's Poe's turn to drive Mr. Skywalker to work. 

"Beautiful day, don't you think Sir?"

"I suppose it is. Poe, do me a favor: take the Parkway. Two windows open, 35 miles an hour."

"Yes Sir. Any news from the front?"

"We received a telegram two weeks ago: Jacen informed us that Anakin received my mother's engagement ring, once he got it the boy immediately proposed to Tahiri."

"Did she accept?" 

"Of course she did. It'd take the world's largest idiot to refuse the combination of things my youngest nephew's offered her."

"Money, looks and style?

"No: the combination being a man who is smart, compassionate and heads over heels for this girl."

Anakin Solo had met Tahiri Veila of the Army Nurse Corps on February 1951. In his first letter mentioning the young woman young Solo describes a carnage far too gruesome for words to fully convey (they were able to read every detail without censorship thanks to Han Solo pulling a few strings). A sky lit up by gunfire and burning vehicles as Jacen's blood gushes in frightening amounts. The older brother had caught a bullet for the youngest, paying no thought to his own life. Poe thought it was heroic, Anakin called it stupid but everyone knows he would done the same for Jacen. The fact Anakin improvised a tourniquet and dragged his older sibling to a ditch is proof. Both of the Solo brothers hid in that ditch throughout the night, beseeching every Saint that came to mind that the other lived. Chunks of people's limbs sprayed them, bullets whistled on and on as the ambush continued but neither made a sound until all was quiet. Then at sun up, as if to answer the pleads of the desperate brothers a MASH arrived. And in that mobile surgical unit Anakin Solo found 'an angel of mercy running through No Man's Land' who gave Jacen blood using a strange plastic bag*. He thanked her awkwardly for helping Jacen, she smiled and complimented his quick thinking. The rest was history.

"Speaking of letters: what have you heard from Rey?"

"Well, she still loves him."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I mean, uh, she loves the cooking school Mister Skywalker. But she'll get over it."

The rest of the day is pretty uneventful. Mister Luke works from to six a.m to twelve in the afternoon and heads home for lunch with his sister & brother in law just as he's done every Sunday without fail since 1946. Finn and Lando keep the garden spotless, Maz starts cooking dinner for the Skywalker family at two p.m same as always. Absolutely nothing hints that this day will be different from all the others until Poe catches a glimpse of some Western Union lad coming up the driveway in his telltale leggings and brimmed cap. The boy delivers a telegram, probably some photographs of Anakin and Tahiri kissing and/or a letter from Jacen asking about Jaina. Mistress Solo opens the envelope, a hint of excitement visible in the way she stands. Ten seconds later Leia Skywalker-Solo, the woman Poe Dameron always defined as 'fearless' abandons all pretense of composure as her hands shake and she yells for her husband and brother. Han Solo arrives first, he reads the object responsible for his wife's hysterics and holds Leia in his arms. Mister Solo whispers sweet assurances into her ears whilst silent tears run down his face. Leia's grip around the telegram loosens, it falls gracefully to the floor where Poe picks it up. He reads the words he was already dreading. 

_Mr. and Mrs. Harrison F. Solo_

_123 South Desoris Lane_

_Long Island, New York_

_I REGRET TO INFORM THAT YOUR SON, 3/2913 CORPORAL ANAKIN LUKE SOLO WAS KILLED IN ACTION  22 APRIL 1951 IN THE KOREAN AREA IN THE PERFORMANCE OF HIS DUTY AND SERVICE OF HIS COUNTRY. PLEASE ACCEPT OUR MOST HEARTFELT SYMPATHY IN YOUR BEREAVEMENT-_

Little Anakin Solo who saw all the servants as friends first and staff later, the reckless youth with a heart of gold that learned Spanish when Poe and his family came to America so they'd feel more comfortable. The steadfast dreamer who told Finn one day he wouldn't have to bribe a butler so the negro could get a decent seat  _ **gone.**_ Never to flash a smile or wink at him, Rey and Finn when they sneak pastries from the kitchen again. Never to play Beethoven's sixth symphony on the piano when he comes home from the war. Never to marry or a have a kid of his own or run Master Luke's part of the company as the boy's uncle had stated in his will. Ay Dios mio como va a reaccionar el pobre Luke? El lo amaba como un hijo*....  

In that moment Luke Skywalker appears, as if conjured by the morose ramblings of Poe's mind. Wordlessly he takes the God-forsaken telegram from Poe's hands. Dameron waits for the screams, the ugly sobs, the blasphemous cursing of the universe for taking away yet another loved one. Luke does none of this, agony is carelessly shown acroos the man's features but he manages to keep an impressive level of self-control. Mister Skywalker walks to his room, his trance-like step causes Poe to worry so he follows him. Once there Luke briefly searches through his drawers and unearths a small wooden cross (Poe recognizes the cross, he remembers Anakin made it for his uncle on Sunday School. The man promised he'd cherish it forever...) He presses a feather-light kiss to the handmade ornament, the same kiss he reserved for Anakin's forehead. After that, the Household's master falls to the ground, shedding every tear held back over the years. Poe pulls him into a hug, not caring how he's not supposed to engage in physical contact with his patron.  Luke suffers by himself far too much, Poe will help in this one occasion the man's subconsciously crying out for a pair of loving arms and a non-bias ear. Heavy is the head that bears the crown, Thomas Wyatt used to say.   

For the first time he can recall Poe Dameron well and truly pities Jacen Solo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hands out tin cup: Comments pleaseeeeeeeeeeee?  
> *Le Cordon Bleu is a cooking school that opened in Paris in 1895 and which became recognized as one of the most elite cooking schools in the world. The school closed during the German occupation of Paris (1940–44). After the war, Madame Elisabeth Brassart relaunched the school both on rue du Faubourg Saint Honoré in Paris and at the Chateau de Montjean. It is considered the guardian of French culinary technique through its culinary programmes that continue to preserve and pass on the mastery and appreciation of the culinary arts that have been the cornerstone of French gastronomy for over 500 years.  
> *The École Polytechnique in Paris was the first engineering school in France to accept women, though females were given 'Assistant Engineer' diplomas until 1972.  
> *Transporting blood and blood banks weren't new concepts at the time of the Korean War, but it was during the war (1950–1953) that the military adopted plastic bags for storing, shipping and administering blood. Before this, blood was stored and transported in glass bottles. But these bottles had to be refrigerated before storing blood, and occasionally the blood had to be thrown out because of hemolysis. Glass bottles took up space in transport and broke easily. During the Korean War, the military started using plastic bags for blood—a method later adopted around the world.  
> *Spanish Translation: Oh God how's Luke gonna react? He loved him like a son.


	5. Chapter 5

May 3, 1954 (Rey's POV)

Rey writes her last letter from Paris to Finn after packing her bags, taking extra care with the lovely evening dress Madam Ventress bought her. The aristocratic woman had seemed pleased when Rey bargained to let her buy the dress **after** she fixed her automobile 'for free' but perplexed when she told the woman she was too hard on her protégé Barriss Offee. Quick to recover from the surprise, Ventress had haughtily replied "When I learned under my instructor Sir Ky Narec, he made my life miserable. Now I make Barriss's life difficult. Succeed in your field of choice and you'll have someone of your own to torment." Despite this, Rey knows she'll miss Ventress's antics and her sibling rivalry with Qui-Gon that is so similar yet so different to the relationship shared by the Solo siblings. Or at least how she remembers their relationship to be. If Finn and Poe's letters are anything to go by poor Jacen still hasn't recovered from losing Anakin and every morning Rey watches Jaina emerge from her chambers dressed in stylish black with no indication that she'll move on to brighter colors. Poe is actually more sympathetic to Jacen now that the man abandoned his past hobbies and plunged himself into what Lor San Tekka called "the driving point of young Solo's existence": Finding the lost child of Anakin Solo and Tahiri Veila.

The young lovers had married quietly before Anakin's untimely demise and Tahiri had confided in her brother-in-law that she was expecting a baby two days previous to becoming a widow. Later that day her regiment was captured and classified as POWs. When the war ended Han Solo petitioned the North Korean government for his grandchild, Jacen has spent every day from 6am to 4pm at the Korean embassy ever since. His commitment causes Rhiannon to admire Jacen's loyalty but Rey believes she's over her infatuation with young Solo, she doesn't moon at his picture for hours on end anymore and she barely brings him up on conversation. There are more important things to discuss at Paris than a child's crush that never went past a shaky kiss on roller-skates. To further cement this idea in her idea she makes no mention of him in her final message from France.

 

 

 

 

> Dearest Finn, we shall be graduating next week and I shall be getting my diploma. I want to thank you now for the two most wonderful years of my life. I shall always love you for sending me here. It is late at night and someone across the way is playing "La Vie En Rose". It is the French way of saying, I am looking at the world through rose-coloured glasses. It says everything I feel. I have learnt so many things, dear friend. Not just how to calculate natural circular frequencies or vibration control in blasting, but a much more important formula. I have learnt how to live, how to be in the world and of the world... .. and not just to stand aside and watch. And I will never, never again run away from life, or from love, either. I am taking the plane home on Friday. Lor needn't pick me up at the airport. I'll just take the Long Island Rail Road and he can meet me at the train - the 4:15. If he or Poe should have any difficulty recognizing me, I shall be the most sophisticated woman at the Glen Cove station.

She signs her name and drifts into a peaceful sleep.

May 4, 1954 (Luke's POV)

His day starts the same as every other has since he left the army. (If he's honest with himself then it's since he received news of her death whilst lying in a hospital bed on 1938.) He hears  _Good Morning Farmboy_ from a voice that perished long before she deserved and strokes a long auburn sunset that destiny forbade turning into silver moonlight, leaving only the memory of how it felt to touch her long-faded dimmet. He knows it's not a good sign for his mental health that he continues coping this way sixteen years after she died but he's always been a man of extremes: he'd created her phantom to forgo the role of a tragic Farmboy turned millionaire turned Commander faultlessly betrayed by romantic love, now he can't shake the role of a man who forgoes liberating the past out of loyalty to a ghost.

Mara leaves after the breeze enters their balcony. He bites his tongue to keep himself from asking her to stay, saving her presence for when he truly needs it. Routine starts again: Wake up after a nightmare at 5am in the morning, eat breakfast, fix the bed, brush his hair, trim the beard she would have loathed passionately and lastly setting off to work with a briefcase in one hand and an umbrella in the other. As usual Maz comes to pick up his breakfast plate, fussing about how little he eats. What would the old lady prefer? For him to gourge himself like an Arab Prince in a Turkish harem? He's 43 years old today, she can't expect him to ask for seconds without a thought like he did when he first came to the Skywalker Manor. A starving nineteen year old farmer that Leia laughed at cause he had no clue how to properly hold a dessert spoon. The faithful servant looks at him kissing the sterling frame with Mara's picture and sighs.

"Set the poor woman free Master Luke. Mara's so lonely there all day waiting for you to come back from work."

  _Stay out of my love life Maz._ "No lonelier than my poor father who's doubly hidden away from the world. What did Sister Tano say?"

"Master Anakin's having a good day. I'll have Lor start the Chevy."

"Ask Leia if she wants to accompany me to see him."

"Ever the optimist aren't you? Have a good day Master Luke." 

 _No Maz whatever optimism I had died upon reading about my nephew's death halfway around the world. I'm just an orphan failing to comprehend how someone could hate seeing their own father._ He stays thirty minutes longer than necessary to see if a miracle happens, it's no surprise to find his wait is in vain. At seven am in the morning Luke Skywalker and Lor San Tekka leave together for the Creedmoor Psychiatric Center* to his youngest nephew's name-sake, Anakin Skywalker. The nuns are no more courteous to him than the next visitor, he prefers their in-discriminatory kindness to the nurses's brown-noser* attitude. Give a hospital three million dollars* and they're willing to claim you sweat gum drops. Luke chats with Sister Tano on the way to father's room, that woman is a blessing. Father's benefited so much from her presence the ten years she's been assigned to this hospital and in many ways she's been the little sister he'd always wanted growing up. Ahsoka's step halts as they reach his destination. Cautiously optimistic, he knocks on the door.

"Father? Is it all right if I come in?" 

"Yes, come in my son."

He enters, careful not to let the door creak cause he knows how much father hates the sound. Sister Tano's verdict of good becomes an understatement when Luke is unexpectedly hugged upon entry by his father, the man's strong frame dwarfing him without trying. The easy smile on Anakin Skywalker's face is the best thing Luke's seen all month, no doubt about it. 

"Happy birthday my little angel. Did you bring me any more of those atomic fireballs Luke?"

"Doctor Plo Koon says that candy gave you indigestion."

"Oh but I loved them."

"Yeah well you like them a whole lot better than they like you."

"Why do you act so gloomy all the time? I'm the one that tried to burn myself alive, not you."

"Father!!!"

"I might as well joke about it. One of us has to lighten things up or else you'll realize how boring it is to visit me. You'll leave forever if I don't keep you entertained."

**"Never."**

Mercifully, the earnestness in Luke's voice is successful in preventing Anakin's mental breakdown. After that the visit goes nicely. He updates father on the latest business transactions of the family industry, along with news of Jacen's fiancee: Tenel Ka Djo, daughter of Isolder Djo whose owns the largest pharmaceutical company in Switzerland. Anakin steps into what his niece Jaina would call the "I'm far from stupid so don't you dare treat me like that" face. It's eerily similar to Leia's expression during Board of Directors meetings 

"I suppose your excitement over the match has  _absolutely nothing_ to do with that new drug the Swiss are promoting. What's it called: Cloratine? Clazatin?"

"Clopazine. The clinical trials proved it's the first anti-psychotic without extra-pyramidal side effects but they're having trouble with shipping it to the US. Isolder was outvoted by the board of directors who decided it was best to hold back the product for at least four years to prevent selling at cost but if our company and Isolder's were to merger..."

"Then we'd get our hands on it and you two would commit yet another act of corporate heroism. Allowing countless schizophrenia patients a decent chance for de-institutionalisation. Pure coincidence that the drug would also abate my schizo-affective symptoms. "

"Father... I want to get you out of here. I want us to live together as a family outside these walls. Is that so wrong a yearning?"

Father's voice cracks and tears well in his eyes. "You are so much like your mother."

Whatever words Anakin Skywalker meant to say afterwards were lost forever as Nurse Barriss came to inform them that the hour was up and it was time to leave. The younger Skywalker gives one last hug for the long-suffering man who shattered after losing his beloved Padmé Amidala. (Though he'll never admit it  father is the reason Luke Skywalker had tried to never fall in love and refused to sink into hopelessness after losing Mara.) Jacen is the first person he sees upon arrival, his nephew informs him that everything's ready for his and Leia's birthday party and hands Luke a sealed white envelope that supposedly holds his birthday present.

"Aren't you going to open it?"

"Last time I opened one of these my heart shriveled up into nothing."

"Trust me, this one you'll like."

He rolls his eyes at Jacen and puts on his reading glasses. "Dear Mr. Solo after years of searching we are delighted to inform you that... That the blood samples you sent us have matched with a girl found on a South Korean orphanage. We will send miss Iseul to your family on precisely two weeks... Jacen is this real?"

"Yep, Jaina flew over this morning with Tenel Ka to smoothen the process."

"If this what you're giving me then I can't to find out what you got your mother."

"I got her a painting from some guy named Roy Lichtenstein. He's quite creative, I think she'll like it. Besides if she doesn't like it then I'll give the painting to Tenel Ka. She loved that thing."

"Jacen, for what it's worth: I really do want you and Tenel-Ka to be happy together."

"Thanks uncle Luke. It means a lot to me that you approve of her."

"How can I not? She's kind, smart, practical, well-read-"

"Wow, wow. Don't even think about eloping with my girl uncle."

"Farthest thing from my mind."

 "I'm gonna get Mom's painting from the store. I'll see you in half a hour."

True to his word Jacen Solo comes back exactly thirty minutes later. His nephew shows up with a Roy Lichtenstein on one hand and a pretty girl, glamorously dressed whom Luke only sees the back of on the other.  _Confound it Jacen I thought you were over that phase of your life. How could you do that to your fiancee._ He walks up to the pair, ready to chew out the youth for behaving this way after his engagement, promising to be as gentle as possible with this nameless girl who probably doesn't know she got on a car with a promised man.

"Hello your Majesty."

Luke sighs in relief upon seeing Rey. "Hello Rey. How was Paris?"

"Just wonderful. Thanks for asking."

"You look heavenly Rhiannon. I bet a lot of hearts were broken on France."

"Not any heart I coveted."

The household emerges to greet Rey home as his nephew's face morphs into pure shock whilst flabbergastingly uttering "Rhiannon". It becomes painfully clear that moment Jacen hadn't recognized young Rey at all. That's to be expected: Rhiannon never held any relevance in his life beyond the role of servant, an unattractive one at that since she was almost always covered in motor grease and whatnot. While Rey leaves,  chatting eagerly with her friends Jacen stares at her the way he did at countless girls before Anakin died, before the War history seems intent on forgetting.

"Jacen.  **No."**

"You're exaggerating-"

"Touch Rey below the waist and this Christmas you'll be singing 'Joy to the world' in a castrati instead of baritone. That's a warning, not a threat."

"You're not the boss of me. I'll do whatever I want with whom I want."

"Anakin wouldn't have done this to Tahiri."

"Like I needed any more proof that you'd be happier if I'd been the one to die!!" 

Luke storms out of there before he says something to his last remaining nephew that he'll regret forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *The Creedmoor Psychiatrist Center was one of the first truly progressive mental institutions of the United States, as proved by the fact they were against lobotomy procedures since 1912. They hold the world's only art museum composed of paintings made by mental health patients since 1962.  
> *brown-noser: ass kisser, excessive flattery.  
> *$3,000,000 in the year 1939 was equivalent to $52,831,510.79 in 2017, a difference of $49,831,510.79 over 78 years. Basically Luke gave them a shitload of money so they'd have no excuse to treat his father's mental disorder inhumanely.


	6. Chapter 6

May 4,1954 (Rey's POV)

When Rey arrived at America she was the picture of elegance: she wore a white boatneck dress with cutoff sleeves, orange tree print and underneath it the softest crinoline petticoat Rey owns. Layers of ruffles and tulle swishing to and forth as she walks.  _If only Jacen could see me now- no stop. You're over it. Royals don't marry Welsh immigrants that may be illegal._

"Come along BB-8. Lor San Tekka's late so we'll have to go outside and take the bus home."

The puppy barks in excitement once she puts him down and shows him the walking leash. He's such a sweet baby, she's sure Finn and Poe will love him. Rey found the Portuguese water dog on campus where some of her less morally inclined colleagues thought it was a good idea to throw rocks at a harmless creature for fun. Jaina had fallen in love with Rey's rescue pup the moment she entered the door with him in her arms so there was no trouble keeping him during her last month in Paris. (The dog was a saving grace when Jaina left, without him she would have gone home to an empty apartment every day.)

BB-8 practically hops as he treads through America for the first time in his short life, running around like a kid on Christmas morning. Oh if all boys were this easy to please. Then on a small art store near the bus stop Rey recognizes Jacen Solo's sports car and a police officer writing down a ticket. Without much thinking Rhiannon runs through the street with BB.

"Excuse me officer?"

"Officer Donald Mitaka at your service Miss.  Can I help you?"

"Well, you see that's my car. I'm about to leave now so I don't think that ticket's necessary."

The policeman laughs at her. (If I were a man he'd probably believe me.)She improvises and says it's her fiancee's automobile. Jacen's appearance prevents any further rambling. Lieutenant Officer Mitaka leaves without a fuss.

"Thank you Miss. I owe you five dollars."

"Or you could give me and BB-8 a ride home. Spares me the bus fee."

"Sure thing. Where do you live?"

"Desoris Lane."

"No kidding, that's where I live."

"Imagine that coincidence."

"To think I could've sworn I knew every pretty girl on the North Shore."

"I could've sworn you took in more territory than that."

"

 _He's looking at me, he actually thought I was interesting and fun and beautiful._ Rey's childhood crush hurls itself back into her mind at full speed as he shamelessly flirts with her the way she'd resigned herself to watch but never experience. He invites her to tonight's party, stating he needs her to even odds for the young blood. Then she tells him to turn left, straight to the garage.

"Here we are."

"Now look, I'm not just pulling that old line of "Haven't we met somewhere before?" We have met some ....You don't live here. I live here."

"Hi neighbor."

Then Luke Skywalker comes charming as always, followed by her friends. Once Rey reaches her room she starts handing out souvenirs: she gives Maz a Paris hat to wear for Church on Sunday, a copy of the latest Edgar Rice Burroughs for Lor San Tekka, cuff links for Mr. Threepio, a recipe book for Chewie coupled with ties and for her boys she brings BB-8.

"Do you like him?"

"Like him? We love him? This is the most adorable puppy in the universe. Right Finn?"

"He's so cute I could eat him."

"How funny, Jacen said the same thing."

Finn's face loses his playful expression and turns serious. "Rey, Jacen's engaged."

"Yes I know. Maz wrote it to me a while back.?"

"It doesn't bother you that Jacen's getting married?"

"He's not married yet. There's still time for him to change his mind and realize his true love has been right here all along."

"I don't like the sound of that."

"Don't you see Finn, everything is different now."

"Nothing's changed: he's still Jacen Solo and you're still the chaffeur's assistant."

"I'm going to iron out my dress. Jacen invited me to the party and if I go there with a wrinkle I'll be the laughingstock of New York."

"You're reaching for the moon again" He says in a sing-song tune.

"Au contraire my cher ami. This time the moon is reaching for me."

She arrives precisely at 7:15 at nighttime, not too early, not too late. Her dress is against the fashion of now but she loves it so Rey has no qualms in stepping into the party with a scandalous cut that leaves her shoulders completely exposed.

Nighttime of the same day, Finn POV

Most of the alcohol is gone for the party so Finn sits with a lone bottle of beer in the kitchen table, trying to pretend this isn't happening. He fails to that when Chewie barges in and asks about the girl who looks a lot Rey, mentioning that both Jacen and Rhiannon are dancing are dancing so close it's a miracle they can breathe. Threepio is no help whatsover, he regales the kitchen with transpiring events of tonight.

"She came in and wowed all the new money and blue bloods alike: Rey is the Belle of the ball. She has the prettiest dress, the loveliest smile. Half the men are still staring at her, much to their wives's displeasure. Everyone is absolutely smitten with our Rhiannon."

"Sure, till they find out her biggest treasure's a gold heart and diamond soul."

Poe turns traitor and gives him a loaded look

"Finn, this is good for everyone. Rey gets her fairy-tale prince, Jacen gets a smart wife that won't squander his inheritance and helps him run his share of the company. Everybody's set for a front row seat on the Happily-Ever-After Express. Besides if he causes one tear I can just kill him. The North Shore's a pretty good spot for a body to disappear."

Thankfully unlike Poe, Lando Calrissian has managed to keep some modicum of common sense.

"Assassinations plans aside, Finnegan's right. Rey's too good for Jacen. Frankly I think old Maz had a better idea where she suggested Rey marry Luke Skywalker instead of his nephew."

Poe's face changes from humor to disgust. "Lando, I love Luke and for the rest of my life I'll be forever grateful for all he's done to help my family but Master Skywalker is twenty years older than her. Name **real** couples with an age gap that large that got a happy ending."

Father smiles at Poe like the cat that caught the canary.

"Charlie Chaplin and his wife Oona whom he describes as 'pure happiness' have a 33 year age gap, Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall have a 25 year age gap-"

"Okay I get it!!! Where did you find all that information anyhow??"

"You'd know it too if you read the society columns."

Poe and Finn pet BB-8 to calm down and both men pray that Mr and Mrs Solo resolve this matter peacefully and without hurting Rey. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hands out tin cup: Comments please?????


	7. Chapter 7

Cont. May 4, 1954 (Luke's POV)

He's discussing the merger with Teneliel and Isolder when Maz tells him the 'boys' are waiting for his untouched cake as custom demands, he hands the cake over to her. Luke continues the conversation until a song Isolder loves is played by the orchestra and he goes to dance with his wife. Maybe he should be enjoying himself the way he promised Leia but in his defense the end goal of this particular business deal will make him **genuinely** content. When Father's treatment begins and the old man is de-institutionalized then he can semi-retire and buy a house surrounded by flowers for them to live in. Dad loves flowers, he's always so happy whenever Luke brings him a bouquet as soon as the old one withers. After forty-three years of not being able to have his own garden the way he did when mom was alive the old man's heart will probably stop when he gets his own bit of earth. (His eyes roam to the old pears trees Mom and Dad tended together. It was still a sapling the last time dad saw it. Luke makes a note to have Finn and Lando bring the well-loved plant to wherever it is he moves with Father.) 

Then without warning he hears Leia utter "Who's that woman dancing with Jacen?"

He turns his gaze towards the scene and surprise, surprise Rhiannon and Jacen are dancing together, thick as thieves. Despite how wrong it is Luke can't help but think Rey looks beautiful here in the moonlight as her pearl earrings capture the glow of the stars. The stressed about expression on his sister's face puts a quick end to his shameless admiration of a girl he's old enough to have fathered. _But really Leia how do you not see it's Rey?_

"Leia, I thought you'd recognize Rhiannon before me. You've been around her this whole time. I left for the war and didn't see her again till she was fifteen."

"Are you sure it's Rhiannon? It doesn't look or dress anything like her."

"Well she's grown up and lacking oil stains in this dress but otherwise I don't understand what you're saying. Rey's always looked like that."

"Yeah sure. Now please break up the match while I do damage control with the Djos."

Teneliel's look of pure fury is all the persuading Leia has to do. Isolder's wife has the second largest amount of actions in the company and the woman's scary enough to give him nightmares on a good day, which means his sister needs to work her charms immediately if they want to preserve the merger. Luke ponders how to separate Rey from Jacen until he sees his nephew lean his mouth into Rhiannon's ear, pure joy asserting dominance over her porcelain doll-like features as she quietly steps away from the festivities and heads to the tennis court.  _Do you know what you're getting into Rhiannon? You have an illusion of my nephew and illusions are a dangerous thing because they have no flaws: I learned that the hard way_  . He catches up with Jacen just after he's placed two champagne flutes in his pockets.

"Your father's asking for you."

"Later, I'm busy."

"You'd best come along. He's practically frothing at the mouth."

"Oh, what about uncle Luke?"

"Take a wild guess."

"Animal, vegetable or mineral?"

"Definitely animal."

At the sight of Han smoking a premium Habana cigar Luke knows immediately this is a lit bag of dynamite waiting to explode. Han usually calls them death-sticks with a lull, claiming that they should be used to calm people down on the worst of occasions. To this day Luke has only seen his best friend/war buddy/business partner/brother in law smoke Havana cigars on three occasions: the day Spain's Republic fell to Franco, the day he first saw pictures of the Holocaust and the time Leia miscarried a beautiful baby girl so small she fit in his hands. If poor Han's anxious enough about this situation to light those cigars a fourth time then his nephew is in serious trouble.

"On the day you and your sister came into this world the doctor wanted to drug your mother, said it'd make the process easier. She and I adamantly refused, we didn't want anything to hurt our babies but it's a lot harder to justify that feeling when you go around ruining the Solo name."

"What have I done now, Father? "

"I'm not saying all Solos were saints. Dallas Solo was hung for piracy, Garris Solo was a slave trader and your great-uncle Henry Solo was shot by the FBI along with his bootleggers. But there never was a Solo who behaved as Jacen Solo has behaved here tonight!"

"Exactly what have I done?"

"No gentleman makes love to a servant in your mother's house!!"

"Technically she's a servant's ward, not a servant."

"In behaving as you have, you've embarrassed not only your mother but also our chauffeur. I have too much respect for San Tekka never to intrude on his personal life, and I expect you to have the same respect for his surrogate daughter."

"I respect her so much I invited her to the party. Listen dad, Rey isn't some fling. I think I'm falling in love with her."

"Enough to throw away the right girl, a woman that loves you and doesn't care about you sleeping with half the state."

"You mean the girl whose father has 40 million dollars." 

"Since is that a bad thing?"

While Han and Jacen keep bickering Luke searches his mind for a way to end the ground sinking under their feet before it's too late. A group from Italy has offered a good deal to Isolder's company and unlike Skywalker Shipping and Airlines they're not interested in selling at cost. His old war companion convinced his wife to take their deal using the argument that they were practically family at this point. That line of defense is rendered null if Jacen elopes with Rey. He summons forth the image of her he'd bottled for emergencies. Mara shows up with the same dress she wore on the day fate tore them apart (The first time he saw Rey). _Show me what to do my love, guide me as you did before._ Wordlessly she walks to the still bickering figure of his nephew and points to the champagne flutes hidden away in his pocket. (No Mara I am **not**  physically hurting my nephew. He resigns himself to the idea that clopazine will be unavailable till 1958. She whispers "Your father's 66 in a week* Farmboy. He might not have that long.") In the end he decides that Father's been locked away long enough and the needs of countless other mental patients who don't even have a loving son to visit them outweighs the needs of his already battered soul. 

"Calm down Han. I don't think you're being fair to Jacen. If he loves her then they should be together."

"Is everyone in this house going crazy? How can you say that after all our plans?!?"

"What plans? The merger? Forget it. Love conquers all in the twentieth century's second half."

"Goldenrod fetch me a hat!! I'm going to pick up a better time to live in blindfolded!! "

"Han don't push him. Let's discuss this like civilized people. Now sit down Jacen."

Just as his nephew starts apologizing for the 'incident' this morning and complimenting Luke saying he's the person in this family who understands him Jacen sits down and screams in pain as the champagne flutes break in his pocket. After that he grabs two glasses and goes to find Rhiannon. He finds Rey in the tennis court, dancing all by herself to the song. Yards of flowing silk move gracefully across her make-believe ballroom. She exhibits such poise in her step that if he didn't know her Luke would confuse Rhiannon for a princess leaped straight out of a fairy-tale. All she's missing is the merry woodland creatures and a soprano voice. 

"I believe you ordered champagne Miss?"

"Your Majesty?"

"Compared to you I'm a pauper tonight my lady."

"Where's Jacen?"

"He won't be able to make it. Jacen had a slight accident. He sat on a champagne flute."

"Is he alright? Maybe I should go see him."

"Our doctor's with him. Rhiannon: why is it we tend to meet in unusual places? A rainy church, an empty tennis court..."

"Are you here to deal with me?"

"Deal with you?"

"Like a Victorian play where the Prince of Monaco's son falls in love with a servant girl or milkmaid or actress so they send the Prime Minister and he says 'We'll give you a thousand francs.' She says no. 'Two thousand francs?' She remains true to her love." 

"Three million dollars.  No self respecting Prime Minister would offer francs."

"No self respecting servant would take or even consider dollars."

_Of all the women on Earth my nephew had to pick the rarest human variety available: the type that can't be bought. Just once can the men in our family have bad taste for women? Is that too much to ask?_

"If you don't mind I'll take that champagne now." (Great she drinks like a princess too.)

"Well rest assured you'll have no objections from me."

"You don't mind?"

"Mind? It's as though a lovely breeze has swept through the house."

"Even if the breeze comes from the general direction of the garage?"

"This is the twentieth century Rhiannon."

_You must remember this. A kiss is just a kiss. A sigh is just a sigh. The fundamental things apply as time goes by.*_

"I can hear the orchestra playing 'As time goes by'. I've watched Jacen dance with countless girls right here while they're playing this song. Tonight I wanted it to be me."

"Well what kind of Royal would I be if I let my sole lady Knight leave her homecoming party without a dance?"

She stutters and it's adorable. It's increasingly rare to find a woman so genuine in everything she does, Rey's honest fluster is worth a hundred fake swoons. After a few seconds she recovers from the shock.

"Technically it's your birthday party Your Maje-"

"Just Luke for you Rey."

"Mister Skywalke-"

"Luke please. Rhiannon: do me a favor and allow me something that will make  **loads** more happy than a million birthday gifts. Let me dance with someone not related to me that hasn't tried to blackmail me out of my company or calls me the world's only living heart donor behind my back."

 She takes his hand and it's the first time he's danced properly with a woman besides Leia or Jaina since VE day. He's probably way out of practice but she doesn't seem to mind, if anything he almost thinks Rey's enjoying herself.

"If my nephew were here he'd probably kiss you right about now."

"Don't fret over it your Majesty. I'm sure I'll wake up from this dream before that happens."

"Here's a kiss from Jacen... It's all in the family." 

It's the first time he's kissed a woman on the lips since 1938. She pretends to be insulted but a blush paints her cheeks. Rey informs him that he's stolen her very first kiss as a woman, her smile bashful yet so dazzling it coaxes an honest to God grin out of the man as Luke keeps dancing with the chaffeur's assistant. _It's just pretend. It's a ploy to ensure the merger goes on without a hitch._

Mara's emerald orbs don't agree with his statement. He'll need to work a lot harder if he's gonna convince himself.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Life expectancy for men in 1954: 66 years for men and 72 years in women.  
> *Lyrics from "As time goes by", also known as the the love song from Casablanca.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2GlVN2Gn3A  
> Hands out tin cup: comments please??????


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saw The Last Jedi: Henceforth I solemnly swear to write much more fics where Luke Skywalker gets the happy ending he deserved.

May 5, 1954 (Luke's POV)

Luke fixes his dress shirt and Dodgers cap for what seems like the eight-thousandth time but is only the third. To say he's nervous right now would be a gross understatement. He hasn't dressed informally for anything except visiting father in over a decade. His life had been the company ever since Han and Leia's kids grew up, that sort of living required a dress code, a table manners code and every other mannerism known to man. Even before that the wonderful but privileged human beings that lovingly called him Uncle hated it when he wore 'poor people clothes'. Apart from Han & Anakin, none of his family approved of him wearing the old cotton shirts Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru saved every penny to buy him so he just went along and wore whatever Leia ordered people to put in his closet. None of these appear even remotely casual and he's so out of the loop regarding fashion that he'll absolutely come out that door looking like an old geezer.  _I don't know how to dress for a walk on Central Park, much less for a dat- **Don't call it a date** , you're just distracting Rey from seeing Jacen long enough for Tenel Ka to come back with my grand-niece. My grand-niece..... When did I get so old? _ His inner monologue is interrupted by the sound of Han entering the room.

"Good morning kid. How much did you write on Rey's check?"

"There was no check."

Han freezes in shock for a moment, taken by surprise at the declaration. Then his suave persona takes over and cracks a grin at what he undoubtedly believes to be a minor setback that's easily fixed, his smirk sweet as syrup. 

"Let me guess: she wants a diamond necklace to match her dress before being sent off."

"Rhiannon's not interested in money or jewelry or drinks at the Plaza hotel. She just wants love."

"You're joking right? They discontinued that model."

"Alas, we've stumbled upon the last of the Romantics. L'amour, toujours l'amour."

Luke's not exaggerating when the words come out of his mouth. His shared night with Rey has told him everything he needs to know about her: Rey is kind and sensitive and beautiful. He's half-tempted to tell Han that Jacen is the one whom society should deem unworthy of Rey. But then his brother in law would interrogate him and find out he kissed young Rhiannon, along with the embarrassing truth that he can still feel the soft full of her lips brushing his and if he closes his eyes he can smell her perfume: vanilla and lavender oil. Goddammit why is she affecting him so badly? Maybe it was the fact he hadn't been so intimate with anyone for years....   

 "Why does she have to pick on Jacen? Why can't she be in love with someone else?"

"We'll do our best."

"You've got someone else in mind for her?"

"Yep. She's going sailing with him in a hour."

"Who's the guy? It better be someone decent: I've got a soft spot for Rey, even if she is in the way of a million-dollar merger."

"You still mean it when you say I got a heart of gold or do you just tolerate me because Leia's my sister?" 

 _Oh sure laugh it up Han. That does wonders for my self-confidence._ Han laughs until he runs out of breath, Luke wonders when exactly the idea of him charming a woman become laughable. He was one of America's top bachelors once upon a time, back when he was young and unafraid. When dreams were forged and spent and wasted. Once he realizes that his brother in law is serious Han argues that Luke's too busy for playing Romeo to a girl; said man focuses on how the word 'busy' was used instead of 'old', hoping it's a sign of good fortune.  Afterwards Han unearths Mara's old portable phonograph from the basement, sending some of Jaina's newest tunes along with it. Nice to know he can count on his brother in law/ war buddy/ business partner/ unofficial shrink to help set the mood for romance in emergencies.

"Lose the hat kid. You're going sailing with a beautiful woman, not heading off to watch the Dodgers."

Afternoon of the same day, Boat exterior (Rey's POV)

_*Won't you answer the fervent prayer of a Stranger in Paradise? Don't send me in dark despair from all that I hunger for. But open your angel's arms to the Stranger in Paradise and tell me/him that i/he need be a stranger no more!!_

_"_ Rey, as much as I like this song I'd appreciate hearing something else today. This is the fifth time you've played it."

"Oh but it's so romantic. I can't believe I never heard it before."

"Well you've been in Paris for quite some time."

"Do you have any other musicals in here?"

"Are you kidding? I got everything Cole Porter ever writ: Go on and have a look if you want."

She picks up an older vinyl record to play. The thin paper cover shows a photo of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing in a ballroom, serenely in love if the cover's anything to go by. Or what's visible of it anyway, everything other inch of this record is positively smothered in tiny grayish particles. Poor thing, it's safe to assume that it's been ages since anybody played this poor, unloved record.

"Oh, you need dusting."

"I beg your pardon?"

"The record, not you Majesty. You've still got some good years left in you."

"Good to know I'm not that old."

"How's Jacen?"

"Well, he's been flat on his stomach but he's feeling better, thank you. Now he's flat on his back."'

"I miss him, not that I'm not having fun with you. Hope you like this one." 

 _*Though I'm left without a penny, The wolf was discreet._ _He left me my left. And so, I put them down on anything._ _But the la belle,_ _La perfectly swell romance._ _Never gonna dance._ _Never gonna dance._ _Only gonna love-_

His eyes fill with a vivid melancholy, the least controlled emotional response Rey's seen on his features since he came back from the event wearing a once-black suit permanently stained crimsom with his wife's blood. Carefully, she slides to try and stop the record player without him noticing or falling off the boat but the crying gaze he sends her way is proof she's failed in the first goal.

"Rey? Do you mind if we turn this off?"

"I'm sorry if it brings back any bad memories your Majesty."

"Mara and I used to slow dance to this song. Back then I liked it. Now..."

She's reminded of Father and his voice carrying over blood-stained sheets as he represses a wince to hold her, how everything always seemed more hopeful after he'd finishing singing Pais Dinogad*. How she sung that ancient lullaby to him as she laid in bed with his corpse, a little girl who didn't fully understand death trying to create a miracle with folk music and a kiss. She hates that song now, because it spoke of fathers coming home and hers went where she couldn't follow. 

"Certain songs bring back certain memories for me too. Was this her favorite song?"

"It was her favorite movie duo. She thought Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire were the best thing on screen since Steamboat Willie. Loved the way they danced together, loved all dancing really....No one mentioned that about her when they wrote all those posthumous articles, I hated how they all thought her life's sole purpose had been my happiness."

Yes it is unfair, she thinks but doesn't say. If Luke had been the one to die then everyone would have spoken about his academic achievements, his patronage to the mentally ill, his courage in the fight against General Franco. Instead Mara Jade Skywalker died and more than half of the newspapers alluded more to her husband's sorrow than the person who died. Barely any mention to Mara's years training in the ballet arts under Anna Pavlova herself and how she was Prima Ballerina at the Palais Garnier or or how she was licensed as a pilot or how she was kind enough to hire a street urchin and call her 'sweet girl' and mean it. Even in death women are seen as accessories to the men in their lives more than independent human beings. And they wonder why Coco Chanel never married.

"You know they have a portrait of her on the Palais Garnier back in Paris. You should go there, it's beautiful. Have you ever been to Paris?"

"Oh yes, once. I was there for 35 minutes."

"35 minutes?" 

"Changing planes whilst trying to stop a particularly inhumane oil deal in Iraq. Thankfully I got there in time."

"See, 35 minutes in Paris gave you good luck. Imagine what it'd give you if you stayed a little longer. It'd change your entire outlook, two weeks and you'll be dancing in the rain whilst singing 'La Vie En Rose'."

"Paris is for hopeful dreamers. Maybe that's why I only stayed 35 minutes."

 Luke stands up and switches the record,  Judy Garland's rendition of 'Somewhere over the Rainbow' fills in the silence neither of them want to continue. When the boat is firmly placed on shore Luke gives her his coat for the hour long drive home. Feeling oddly bold she tells him about her father and how nobody cared much about the death of an illegal immigrant who claimed he was the bastard child of the Duke of Edinburgh, about the orphanage and the cold mush served every day for dinner and how professor Hux used to crack her knuckles because she corrected his geometry in class, the worst part of skipping two grades if you ask her. Luke's surprised that Rhiannon's life has held such tragedy, experience having shown him more often than not bright smiles like the one she wears every morning don't stay on people touched by death as they both are. She doesn't tell him that he's the first person Rey's told about her father in years, that apart from Father Kenobi no one knows even a third of what's she said to him, not even Finn and Poe. But if the way he squeezes her hand is anything to go by Luke knows the value of what she's said to him. When they get home and she hands him the coat back he smiles before picking his briefcase to work again and kisses her hand like the old movie royalty she's always associated him with. 

Rey tells herself it's perfectly normal to wish Luke Skywalker had pressed his gentle lips upon her mouth instead.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *From the 1953 Broadway musical Kismet. "Stranger In Paradise" is one of the best love duets of all time IMO.  
> *Lyrics to 'Never Gonna dance': sung by Fred Astaire in the movie "Swing Time".  
> *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBl7ZFI-QP8 : Welsh Lullaby: Dinogad's Smock (Pais Dinogad)  
> Hands out tin cup: comments please????


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was thinking of writing a South Pacific version of Rey and Luke when I'm finished with this. Would anybody read it?

Nighttime May 5th, 1954 (Han's POV)

"How'd it go today with Rey?"

Despite his laughing when Luke told him this crazy scheme Han's interest is genuine. For all his annoying quirks Luke Skywalker is the best friend he's ever had. (He counts Chewie as his father/older brother figure, not a friend.) He hadn't laughed because he thought Luke incapable of wooing Rey, what made him chuckle till the air ran out of his lungs was the fact that Luke failed to mention he had a desk full of work whilst preparing for an extracurricular activity not related to his niece or nephews for the first time in  **nine years.** It made Han want to keep tears of joy but then the kid would have said he's getting soft so he hid that yearning under a laugh that probably pegged Luke down a notch or two.

"Han, a miracle took place this afternoon: Joe College with a touch of arthritis managed to sail into the sunset with a girl of 22 without making a ass of himself." 

"Really?"

"Yep. have you seen my secretary?"

"Do you mean Bant Eerin, the rookie or Madame Nu, the old crone who worked under you, your dad and your grandparents?"

"Han: Jocasta is not a crone."

"Easy for you to say kid: you think she's a lovely grandmother-like figure cause whenever you waltz into the room she smiles and makes jasmine tea with hazelnut once she hears you're coming. For the life of me I can't figure how you get that witch to act so **_nice._** "

"For starters, I don't ask if she's planning to retire on her birthday."

"Typical: one occasion and they brand you for life."

Leia chooses that moment to enter Luke's room and ask where he was all day. The man is quick to explain his plan of distracting Rhiannon until Jaina and Tenel Ka arrive, Han watches as the kid shuts himself down again to 'business mode' to his own twin. He remembers the twins' previous goofing attitude on life, wondering how two people can love each other and gladly take a bullet for the person standing next to them yet still be total strangers to one another at times. _You have no idea how much I miss you Luke, the old you that wanted to fly around the world instead of staying in this stuffy office and paper doll world that we thought responsible for squeezing the sanity out of your old man. You kept your head clear but it came at the price of your smile. What I'd give to see you **really** smile again the way you did in Catalonia, the way you smiled for Red-_

"Han, Leia, there's been a slight hitch in the plastics deal on Puerto Rico. I'll be spending tomorrow at Queen's village to work things out." _Excuse number billion and one for the kid to visit old Anakin without pissing Leia off. How does he expect to dance around a work related excuse?_

"All right, I'll clear our schedule so we can go together."

"Rush Clovis is going to be there." _Well, that answers that question. Leia hates that man almost as much as she hates the scar on her left arm from trying to find Breha Organa in the ashes of her family summer home._

The kid kisses Leia's forehead and says goodnight to the both of them, sitting in the desk that possessed soul-sucking powers according to Little Poe Dameron back in 1945 when they first saw Luke don the mask sewed deep inside his own flesh. Wordlessly Luke puts on his reading glasses and catches up with everything he missed today at the office, back straight as he starts to pour through the files on his desk. Han's about to close the door when suddenly he hears a sound the man never thought he'd listen to again: Luke's voice singing. With his mind half convinced he's hallucinating the man quietly sneaks a peek at Luke through the small gap in the door.

"I saw your face and I ascended out of the commonplace into the rare. Somewhere in space I hang suspended until I know there's a chance that you care*...."  

 _ **Rey** did that _ Han says to himself in a tone laden with content surprise. _Please save him Rhiannon. We both know if he had half a shot Luke would save the universe, his whole life has been dedicated to saving the folks no one else will. Just this once I'd like somebody to save the kid in return._

May 6th, 1954 (Rey's POV)

Her day starts the day it has since 1938: a quick prayer for her mother and father's soul at 5:00 am, a brief stretching of her arms to prevent them from falling asleep and finally opening the garage window to see the sun rise and the Skywalker Manor with it. Lando and Maz are always the first figures she sees, her dwarf and giant like to sneak out of the balcony, stealing kisses for ten minutes until Maz goes off to prepare his Majesty's breakfast tray. Why neither of them want to kiss in public is something Rey may never understand. At 5:15 am Lando Calrissian and Finn show up with gardening tools in hand, looking even darker as the fir trees they trim cast their shadows. Finally at 6:45 am Luke Skywalker steps outside wearing that black homburg Maz tried to put in the fireplace last year to no avail, carrying a briefcase and an umbrella but otherwise casual in his chosen attire. Rey knows exactly how the script should play out: His Majesty looks up to the Manor, the same way he's always done and she creeps back into the safety of her room, closing the window before Luke catches a glimpse of her. But that was a scene for a story-line rendered invalid, back then she'd shied away from him because it felt like he didn't want to let anybody in so it'd be rude to disturb one of his few moments of genuine solitude. Yesterday Luke opened himself to her, he let Rey dismantle a few of the bricks on his wall. No emotionally closed man could kiss as tenderly as he did last night... _Blast it all why can't I stop thinking about his bloody hand kiss? He's a gentleman: all gentlemen do that. It never meant anything when Count Dooku or Mister Calrissian kissed my palms... It means nothing to me and much less to him. I'll prove it this instant when I greet him and all he does is wave offhandedly._ _Oh God he's looking at me, courage Rhiannon it's now or never._

"Good morning your Majesty." _Please wave offhandedly like you always do at the parties. Wave offhandedly like you do at the press photos. Do the same to me- Wait he's smiling!!! And not just not any smile: that's the smile he saved for **her!!!**  Somebody up there hates me...._

"Well, what a nice surprise. Good morning Rhiannon. I hope you had a good night's sleep."

"It was all right. Where are you going?"

"Heading off to Creedmoor. Leia thinks I'm off to work but Han saw right through me."

"Can I go with you Luke?"

His face takes on the same expression hers did at eight years when Han Solo asked if she wanted to attend private school. The earnest look of one who has just heard something which they've dreamt of but gave up hope for long ago. Why would her saying she wants to accompany him to see Anakin Skywalker cause that reaction? Luke and Leia share the same father, surely his twin sister's gone to visit the Skywalker patriarch at least once right? If she hasn't then Leia's behavior makes no sense to Rey. **How can you have a living, breathing father that you can visit at any time and not want to see him? Doesn't she realize that most people don't get to keep their parents with them half as long?!?!**

"You can come if you want: Doctor said interacting with other people helps him. Get dressed and I'll wait for you to come down."

She doesn't need to be told twice. In a flash she puts on a strapless floral gown and strategically drapes a white long-length coat over it in case hospital regulations require a more conservative dress code. Rhiannon decides against makeup just as she did yesterday, it seems far too extravagant for anything outside special occasions but then again she should make a good impression. After all this is Luke's father and Jacen's sole surviving grandparent... She applies a very small amount of Cherries In The Snow* and pencils her brows as quickly as possible. Neither Poe or Mrs Dameron said anything as they saw her sang Bing Crosby's 'Darling, Je Vous Aime Beaucoup'  on her way down. It was no secret to them or anyone who'd lived with Rhiannon Mair Kryze that she sung every morning as she walked down the stairs. Lor San Tekka was another story.

"Where are you going dressed like that child?"

"I'm going to meet Anakin Skywalker with Luke. Lor, you've been driving Mister Skywalker to see his father all these years. Do you have any advice on what the old man likes or dislikes?"

"Truthfully I never step out of the car in those trips so no."

"How about Luke? What do you know about him?"

"Rhiannon: a chauffeur's supposed to keep his eyes on the road. Only once in a while does he get a glimpse in the rear-view mirror....That being said, Luke Skywalker is a remarkable man. He's seen the world in all its tainted glory yet he still finds the light under the ink splotches. I'd trust him with my life and even more importantly I'll trust him with yours today. Call me when you reach Creedmoor." 

"I will, promise."

When she walks out the door Luke stares at her as if he hadn't truly believed that she would come down. Once she steps inside the 36 Chrysler he flashes her a smile, his attempt to tell her non-verbally all is well but Rey can't help but think that for him to have that reaction Luke must be used to waiting in vain. An unbidden train of thought enters her mind: Maz sends Luke his breakfast tray each morning at 5:15 am, that means there's a span of 1 hour and 30 minutes before he leaves every morning. Maz is also the unofficial family messenger and Leia eats her breakfast between 6- 6:15 am. Does that mean Luke spends thirty minutes every day waiting for his sister to have a change of heart!?!? _Oh the poor man, no wonder he smiles so little..._ They don't talk on the road to Creedmoor but a couple of times Rey sees Luke almost retract his glove covered hand from the steering wheel to her direction, trying to assure himself that things won't go wrong. By the fourth near touch she forgets about propriety and holds onto his hand before he withdraws it again. When they get there Rey immediately hugs Sister Tano, blissfully content to see her old friend who informs the young woman that her music box still works perfectly.

For reasons she can't explain the sight of Luke chatting with Sister Tano the way she does with Finn and Poe makes her feel **_odd._**  She's taken aback by it, uncertain of what to do except feel happy. (Rey ignores the nagging little voice in her head telling her butterflies in the stomach only happen for one particular emotion as she talks with Lor San Tekka on the payphone.) The fuzziness in her gut refuses to leave as Mister Skywalker extends his arm so they can walk to Anakin's room together. It's ridiculous: her whole life she's been in love with Jacen Solo and then his uncle comes along with a record player and a few heartfelt confessions that muddle things up?!? Besides Luke probably sees her as a kid, just like Han and Leia and Lando. _But all of them were around while you grew up, to an extent they raised you. Luke went to war and didn't come back until you were 15. And even then you didn't speak a word to him until that day at Church. You heard about him from Poe and Lor....._

Luke knocks on a door, asks for permission to go inside and enters shortly after hearing an old man say "Come in my son". Sister Tano stops her from walking into the room behind him.

"Rey: before you go in there I should warn you that Anakin's not... handsome."

"Ahsoka: he's ancient. I'd be shocked if he **was** handsome."

"Luke didn't tell you anything about old Skyguy did he?"

"No, but in his defense I invited myself here without leaving any time for adjustments. What do I need to know?"

"Anakin tried to burn himself alive thirty-two years ago. His sister in law Breha Organa died because of it and eighty percent of his body got crisped, the man is literally one large mass of scar tissue. So don't gasp or give any indication that you're scared when you see him. Got it?"

"Yes, I understand Sister Tano."

"Good. You can enter now but don't forget what I said."

The first thing Rey thinks of the apparently infamous Anakin Skywalker isn't how ugly he is though she admits the thick ropy scars that cover his skin and the jagged pink scar on his scalp are attention grabbers, rather how carefree his son is in the presence of him. After she gets over the shock of hearing Luke laugh Rhiannon studies the features of Anakin Skywalker. Unlike his children the Skywalker patriarch is tall, overshadowing his son even though he's currently sitting on a rocking chair. A childish thought to find a marker and measure both men's heights causes her to stifle a giggle, or try to hold back a giggle since Rey's efforts are far from successful.

When Luke hears it he urges her to step closer with a wave of his hand, one cerulean orb on Rey and the other on Anakin. She understands why when the aforementioned man stares at Rey as if he's not sure she's real. Does every Skywalker male have a patent on different tragic glances? 

"Luke? I see a young woman in a lovely white coat. Are you seeing her too or do I have to call the doctor to tell him the medication's not working?"

"No, you're not hallucinating again father. I brought someone here to see you. Anakin Skywalker: meet Rhiannon Mair Kryze."

A large, pale hand that's quite frail-looking moves to her direction, extending itself in amity while simultaneously shaking. Rey doesn't waste any time and shakes the long imprisoned man's hand immediately, perhaps she shakes it a little too roughly but she doesn't have soft and pretty hands like Jaina & Mistress Leia. No matter how much jewelry or fine clothes she puts on Rhiannon's hands still reflect her social status: no heiress has calloused palms or scars in her left index finger from sewing her own wounds.  Anakin smiles, his malformed lips opening to show rows of pearly whites and Rey relaxes because Anakin's grin reminds her somewhat of Luke's. The three of them of them spend the next twenty minutes mostly joking, every now and then Anakin asks about the company and Luke takes out documents from his briefcase to show his father. Despite being locked up in an asylum (Granted a very nice asylum but still an asylum) Anakin Skywalker is still influencing the company, his son has made sure of that. Almost every major decision in the last decade has been done with Anakin's consent, not that anyone knows it. About thirty minutes into the visit Luke asks for her engineering opinion on the new shipping planes. When she tries to convince him that her knowledge on the matter is limited, he tells her Jaina's checks to pay for her bachelor's degree came from him and she mentally slaps herself for never asking how Luke's niece paid for one of the most expensive schools in Europe without her parents finding out a small fortune was wasted on the chauffeur's assistant. Afterwards she rambles on about engines with both of the Skywalker men until Sister Tano informs them the hour's up. Luke's father asks for a few seconds alone with his son. The old man whispers something into his ear for a long while and sends him off with a kiss on the forehead. He also tells Rey he hopes to see her again, his eyes never leaving them as they walk out into the real world. They walk on Central Park after that, Luke seems not to notice or not care when a man hiding behind a tree takes a picture of them.

"What did Anakin tell you?"

"He said he wants to promote you head of engineering. Asked if I had any blackmail material to kick our current head out and put you in, had some very interesting ideas for that."

"I know you're lying but as far as lies go that's the most flattering one I've ever heard so I forgive you."

"Rey, I'm not lying"

"Oh yes you are. Your right hand twitches every time you lie and it just did right now. Chewie told me so, says it makes you a terrible poker player unless you count the cards. Didn't take you for the type to cheat."

"For your information counting cards is not cheating, it's just applying math to even the odds. Man's gotta eat after all."

"You have boatloads of money. Why would you worry about food?"

"Rey? What do you know about my past?"

"Not much, Poe, Finn and I always tried to figure out more than the snippets they gave us but Han & Leia always said it was none of our business."

"Well, you told me your family history. It's only fair I tell you mine."

He talks and Rey receives the biggest shocker of her life since she first saw the Skywalker Manor when Luke Skywalker, the man whom her generation associates with wealth and old money's ability to persevere claims he grew up as far from privilege as she did albeit in different ways. Anakin Skywalker fought in the Mexican Border War, the last time he saw Padme Naberrie 'Amidala' was on September 1910 where they shared a brief goodbye night that also served to conceive the Skywalker twins. Padme left to attend the wounded in her native Ottoman nationality, working to help the victims of the Macedonian revolts. He received news of his wife dying in childbirth on the front at the second major battle of Ciudad Juarez through a muddied telegram that was barely legible. Luke says something _**snapped** _ in his father after hearing that the woman he'd loved since childhood died and he couldn't even attend her funeral. To make matters even worse, since the American Government didn't recognize the Red Crescent* Padme' was not identified until a week later, the autopsy revealing that she had given birth under extremely difficult conditions but the baby (no one knew she'd delivered twins) was nowhere to be found. Anakin Skywalker became a killing machine, earning the nickname "Vader" after dragging a wounded Rebel priest away from sanctuary to shoot him regardless. The priest's last word was "Vade-* and U.S troops used it to instill fear in the Mexican insurgents, heralding the bloody deaths which he became associated with.  Needless to say, when the war ended he was unable to adapt to civilian life, which allowed Sheev Palpatine: the second largest share-holder of Skywalker industries to use Anakin's insistence to refuse dealing with United Fruit Company to out him from his own business and with that final blow Anakin's mental health deteriorated.

Unbeknownst to the Skywalker patriarch his twins were separated in the Greek border yet somehow both of them ended up in America. Leia as luck would have it, was adopted by actual blood relatives: her maternal aunt Breha Organa nee  Naberrie and her husband Bail, prominent members of both the Skywalker Company and the New York Peace Society. She was raised to inherit a million dollar company, a princess in all but name. Unlike her brother she actually met Anakin in childhood when Bail made the legal preparations to name her Skywalker thus leaving her as the sole heir of Anakin's fortune, she was scared of him as an infant and when he set two Molotov cocktails: one on himself and one in his summer home, unaware that his sister in law had entered the house looking for a glove she left behind Anakin Skywalker became an unredeemable monster, his very existence a reminder that Breha Organa was no longer with them. She last saw him when he was shipped to Bedlam for suicidal tendencies, and from that day on Leia Skywalker Solo has refused to know anything of the man she later discovered was her biological father.

By contrast, Luke was originally adopted by a kindly old woman named Shmi Lars whom Luke barely remembers cause she died when he was three. Shmi's late husband's younger brother Owen and his wife Beru raised him from that moment on. His childhood and early youth was spent clearing brush and weeds, fixing radiators, plowing the field with a horse or hauling large loads of soil on the Darklighter family's hay farm in Arizona for 2 dollars a field. He describes 'uncle Owen' and 'aunt Beru' as hard-working, gentle but firm when it was needed, people who loved the land and wouldn't have wanted any life other than the simplistic country lifestyle they were given. Luke says he lived with them until 1930, when the dust bowl caused the Darklighters to file bankruptcy, then he packed his belongings, hopped on a bus and the rest was history. (Luke omits the fact he left because a few days later he found both his aunt and uncle hanged in the farm post for refusing to leave the land* where their parents and grandparents lived in, toiled in and were buried in, only avoiding the tragedy because he was returning a lost dog with a Chinese puzzle box in his collar for Father Obi-Wan Kenobi and had to walk 10 miles to reach his destination or how the Bus was really an old public car found in the junk yard that was subsequently re-purposed for boot-legging by two moonshiners named Han Solo and Chewbacca.) It's a good story but it's not one that seems very possible outside a film.

"With all due respect your Majesty, I don't believe this part of your story."

Hurt flashes in his eyes and Rey feels like the worst woman to ever live. "Why don't you believe me? Give me one good reason."

"I'll give you three: You don't have any poor people habits, you don't talk to anyone from this supposed time of your life and the idea of a farmhand going from a life harvesting grains to the fifth richest man in the world is as unlikely as-"

"The Brooklyn born daughter of illegal immigrants left in a crummy orphanage eventually graduating from France's pioneer female engineering program, befriending a Count and dazzling America's top bachelors in one night?"   

"Luke, they've got your profile all wrong: you're not an iceman, you're a bloody joker."

"Fine by me so long as you realize I'm telling the truth."

"I require proof."

He responds by taking off his brown linen gloves and telling Rey to feel his hands, claiming they are his proof. Rey assures herself she's complying for argument's sake and not because she wants to know what his hands are like without the gloves he wears for all the parties and driving. She expects the same sort of hands she felt when she waltzed with Jacen, the palms smooth as his black velvet coat, with only a few recently fading blisters to make her remember he'd been to war. It made her slightly uncomfortable but she'd pushed it into the back of her mind, after all it wasn't Jacen's fault he was nurtured in privilege. That was just an accident of birth. 

Where Jacen was rose-petal soft, his uncle is hard as a rock. _These are working man hands, hands that bear evidence of countless bumps and bruises for years._ Luke's palms are full of many dried callouses that have left his skin hard as dried leather, the same type of hands one sees in farmers who no longer toil every day in the fields but carry a lifetime of labor nonetheless. In some places there's chunks of flesh missing, his right wrist has a long scar that looks like he nearly lost the limb. Compared to Luke her palms are gossamer touching sandpaper but mentally Rhiannon likens them to soldiers fighting the same war on different angles, each dressed in the color of their regiment. It makes her sad to realize that the gloves are a cloaking mechanism and not a fashion preference like she'd always assumed. Why would he cover himself that way for so long? Can't he see how beautiful this is? How these hands physically tie him to the earth he cultivated?

"Majesty: I believe you now. About the past, not about what your father said....Luke, you shouldn't wear gloves all the time."

"I'm afraid it's a necessity Rhiannon."

She frowns with genuine confusion. "What do you mean? These are hands to be proud of. They mean you're strong and diligent and adaptable."

He retracts the complimented palms, leaving her with a queer ache she can't quite settle.

"To you maybe, the  _Papier_ - _mâché_  palaces alternatively called galas and the gilded cage otherwise known as an office I enter day in and day out look at the same hands and yell 'you don't belong here country bumpkin' at me if I don't cover them." 

Rey thinks of Jaina and how Han Solo was called reckless for letting her attend flight school, of Leia Skywalker Solo whom most business associates address after her husband despite the fact that she's the larger shareholder, of Mara who was remembered in America as Luke Skywalker's tragic love. She recalls Paris and how nobody cared about where you came from as much as they did about your talent. Killing the nobility forced the French to value citizens. Tout le monde est égal quand ils sont morts*, Ventress had told her. It seems 'the land of the free and home of the brave' didn't get the message after their revolution. Suddenly the idea of marrying Jacen or Luke or any well to do american gentleman is horrifying. She doesn't want to host stupid dinners where picking the wrong fork is cause for mocking or make gossip column headlines because she speaks the truth to some haughty member of the bourgeoisie. It would drain her to fake a smile for people she hates and hide aspects of herself that shouldn't have to be hidden at all, she'd end up counting her yearly grins with a hand the way Luke does. (Luke who probably had to teach himself what to say and wear and like in front of everybody till rich people mannerisms came naturally. Luke who can't even attend a party without gloves because stupid heiresses who've never gone more than six hours without eating will label his hands uncouth.) Hell, six months of receiving empty upward vocal curves laced with psychological poison and Luke might have to find her a room at Creedmoor next to Anakin!!! Not forgetting the fact she's an illegal.....    

"Will they call me a Taffy* if I wed Jacen and enter that same Papier-mâché palace?"

"I don't think so, even stupidity has limits."

"Not according to Einstein."

"Dear old Albert's Jewish, I'm a Roman Catholic and a Communist.  _Don't tell Speedy*._ "

"May we please go home now? It's getting dark and I promised Jacen I'd tell him goodnight."

"Right...Jacen. I'll go start the car."

She's aware that Maz placed sleeping herbs in Jacen's pain medications to prevent them from interacting and he'll be unresponsive till next day but Rey needs to see him. Needs to rekindle the flame that was seemingly endless up till now and nip this blooming yellow rose* root and stem. _Of all the zillion flowers species to choose my mind picks that one._  It's useless to consider anyhow: Luke Skywalker may fancy her as a confidant (Lord knows he needs one) due to her honesty but at the end of the day he's in love with a ghost, a much prettier and interesting ghost to boot. Rey's mud hair can't compete with Mara's perennial sunset, her flat chest can't compare to his wife's sculpture-like breasts.

"Rey, are you coming or not?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

"If I don't walk over there what happens?"

"Simple, I run and carry you bridal style. Unless you'd prefer piggy back."

"Go on then, carry me your Majesty. Bridal style if you please."

It's harder for Rey to convince herself of the validity in her argument when she compares the way he carries her now to that one time as an eighth year old when he tucked her to bed and finds that the fondness remains but it's been altered. Matured into a peaceful yet  deeper meaning. _Luke **doesn't** picture me as_   _a_   _kid anymore...._

In spite of the implications she smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Lyrics to the man's part of 'Stranger In Paradise'.  
> *Cherries In The Snow: Revlon lipstick color launched in 1953, available till 1959.  
> *The beginning of Jesus's sending Satan away in the Latin bible. Vade Satane: Away with you Satan.  
> *Red Cross used a Red Crescent in the Ottoman Empire to prevent offending Muslim soldiers. The United States rejected the symbol, claiming it represented a spurn of Christian charity.  
> * Some farmers were actually hanged for 'aggressive behavior' during the dust bowl if they refused to leave their homes after the first week. It's one of those little bits of American History no one likes to talk about, though it's implied a similar fate would befall a tertiary character in John Steinbeck's Grapes Of Wrath.  
> *Everyone's equal when they're dead in French.  
> *Taffy: ethic slur for the welsh originating from the racist 18th century rhyme 'Taffy was a Welshman'.  
> *Speedy: nickname for J.Edgar Hoover.  
> *Yellow rose: start of a new beginning in Victorian flower language.  
> Hands out tin cup: comments please????


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please know I don't hate Leia, however in this fic she is a product of her times and the 1920-40s behavior towards the mentally ill was....not pretty. And if Leia hates Anakin with a modern education it's safe to assume she wouldn't feel guilty about hating him with an old school mentality. She'll be redeemed in two or three chapters. The point of this chapter is to change the only problem I have with characterization in the Sabrina film:. Luke wouldn't think of arranging to trick a girl he's going to Paris with him as his first idea like Linus Larrabee. For Luke this would be a last resort fueled by desperation, hence why I said 'distract' in my fic and not 'send away' like Linus does in the film. Also I'm reasserting a concept Rian Johnson forgot: Luke ALWAYS chooses his family (adopted or biological) over himself. That being said enjoy and please comment.

May 7th, 1954

Leia Skywalker Organa Solo stares at the grim photo of the demon who murdered Breha Organa waving goodbye to Luke and little Rey Kryze who used to practice the Andrew Sisters's tap dance when she walked down the stairs. Time has not bettered Vader's appearance, mutilated flesh still betrays the horrors within. Her golden twin seems even more beautiful in the light caught by the camera, Rey's dark curls accentuating his beeline honey locks with a hint of silver he refuses to dye, insisting the whole idea of hiding grey hairs is dressing mutton like lamb. It's probably the closest one can get to seeing Saruman and Arwen next to Legolas. What possessed Luke to take that sweet young woman near **him?!?** Was he trying to scare Rey into leaving by showing her madness ran in the family? Or is her brother so desperate to prove Anakin Skywalker's supposed mental recuperation that he invited the first person with no clue of their seed-giver's past to hop on a car to Creedmoor? 

"And she was there with him? For the whole hour?"

"Yes, Ma'am. I saw her shake his hand."  _Poor girl. Forced to touch those burns..._

"The pictures are to my satisfaction Kaydel. Mister Threepio has your salary."

Wordlessly, the young freelance reporter leaves with a curt nod of respect to her benefactor. Leia moves to the second photograph, it shows Luke and Rhiannon walking together on Central Park at the same hour he was supposed to be at that business meeting. ( _The words 'Rush Clovis' came out and I didn't question further. Stupid, doubly stupid for an entrepreneur..._ ) Rhiannon almost holds Luke's hand in that photograph, so cheerful it must have exhausted the poor man. The girl fancies herself in love with Luke but she's also in denial. Leia knows it, she can see it in the way her eyes try not to glisten in that third photo where Luke allows her to touch his rough country boy hands that bear more scars than the Board of Director's entire bodies. (Maz says Luke is still reaching for the Lars-Whitesun farm, despite the fact that rusty old shack would have fit over ten times in Skywalker Manor's tennis court alone. Leia understands that since she's still reaching for a mother's arm she long outgrew.)

When Luke walks into the office ten minutes later than usual and sans bowtie, Leia notices a change in her brother. His rugged countenance--hardened by working tirelessly through business deal after business deal (and committing treason) is now closer to that of the nineteen year old farm boy who'd throw himself to the raging winds with little more than his soul to anchor him through the journey. Bant Eerin's eyes grow like saucers when Luke follows her asking if he wants coffee with a polite request for hot chocolate. Leia's shocked as well, Luke hasn't wanted anything sweet since- since Mara died. He'd gone from nearly being addicted to cocoa to going nowhere near sugar as a rule. Well, if she'd known two days off from work and a walk on Central Park would be so rejuvenating then she would have sent Luke away to Yellowstone ages ago.

"Who do I have to thank for this Luke?"

"I'm not sure what you mean Leia."

"You look happy, you walked in with a grin so large I'm surprised it didn't touch your ears." 

He shrugs his shoulders with a careless magnificence that sends her back to 1930. "I just feel cheerful this morning? Is that so bad?"

"Of course not. It's wonderful. I suggest you hold on to whatever caused that smile. Takes me back to India."

Remembrance takes a stronger hold of Leia as Luke playfully nudges her on the shoulder, the way he did while they rode with a wounded Father Kenobi on the back of Han's lousy but lovable 'Millenium Falcon: best alcohol express in the county' not long after busting her out of prison for participating in the Dharasana Satyagrapha*. Funny how a vacation trip to India somehow ended up in her aiding a foreign civil rights movement. Her jailers had left her in solitary confinement, claiming it was unseemly to leave a fine bred American lady alone with wanker dotheads* that probably spoon-fed her lies.They said they were the good guys and somehow they knew Leia had already talked with Mahatma Gandhi, at first they tried to bribe her with food and blankets to confess. When that failed they tied her legs, hung her up with her head downwards and put powdered chilly in her nostrils* to elicit a betrayal she never granted them. (She was still hanging from her cell when Luke came in with his ill-fitting Royal Garhwal rifles uniform that made her say he was too short for a British infantry man.)

"How'd the wedding plans go with Teneliel and Isolder?" The question snaps her back to 1954.

"Fine, we're going to fill the outdoor pool with 2,000 gardenias to spell Jacen and Tenel Ka's names. The indoor pool will be emptied so people can place gifts on it. Oh no, don't lose the smile. I thought you liked gardenias."

"It's not that, it's the fact you're going to waste so much money on a gaudy detail that won't last longer than a day."

"Honestly do you have to be so dramatic over this. You're Luke Skywalker, not Scrooge McDuck."

"Well, if you don't mind Scrooge McDuck is going to catch up on what he missed yesterday. Don't stand there waiting too long."

Moments like this are the reason Leia's convinced that Luke never will never plan a gala. Her twin brother hated the whole concept of spending large amounts in anything he deemed unnecessary, he and Leia have a very different definition of the word. (That's why Maz has to take out the price tags every time Leia adds something to his wardrobe.) His wedding with Mara was a quiet affair that caught all the newspapers by surprise. Luke had wanted a ceremony with no grand reception, no luxurious party and especially no press photos. Mara was of the same opinion; albeit for opposite reasons. For Mara a quiet wedding meant that Luke was  marrying her for who she was and not how much money she inherited. Leia's sister in law planted a fake wedding appointment for the Plaza at June when the true wedding date was in February with only Han, Leia, Lando, Chewbacca and the Cameron family as witnesses on an Irish church in Brooklyn where Father Kenobi pronounced them man and wife.

She smiles at the memories while checking Luke's files on his desk that his little excursion with Rey didn't give him time to organize properly and skims over them while Bant updates him in the merger plans discussed while he was absent. Speaking of which, there should be a file about the merger somewhere in this mess of papers- She stops upon seeing a file that shouldn't exist: a deinstitutionalization release warrant for Anakin Skywalker next year if the patient's stability rate continues progressing at the same rate. It becomes transparent why Luke had latched onto the merger, it wasn't for the profits or to open a new branch in the company: every action in this deal was made for the eventual release of that monster. How could Luke do this?!?! How could he blatantly use the company her parents kept afloat for that demon's benefit?!?!

She holds up the document so he can see. "Luke: what is this?!?"

"Why were you snooping through my stuff?"

"That's not what matters!!! Why are you trying to have **that..murderer** released?!?!"

"Leia, our father's suffered enough."

"Oh, yes. It must be terrible to do nothing all day in a room with people who are trying to help you."

"There it is again: that willing blindness that stops you and 99% of your class from finding out what goes on inside asylum walls. Out of sight, out of mind right?"

It makes her angry that after twenty four years spent in the same 'class' Luke still sees himself as part of a separate world from hers but catalogs himself with Anakin. That he still prefers tending to moon flowers at midnight with Lando to all the activities befitting his stations and has **never** smiled at any of her tasteful Christmas gifts the way she caught him smiling at the leather-worn copy of Burnett's Little Lord Fauntleroy with a dedicated note on the front page that Anakin Skywalker was able to send him once Luke sent the beast to Creedmoor.* What has she failed to give him? Why can't he ever realize they: the twins who made the most of their respective tragedies are the ones who are the same, not Luke and Anakin Skywalker who was born the 'natural' son of Qui-Gon Skywalker born in the Ottoman Empire who actually claimed his bastard son at age nine and wasted every opportunity life granted? Not that Anakin could help it, aunt Ryo would say: he was born of sin and that meant he was damned from the start*. Not even saintly Padmé Naberrie Amidala was enough to save him. Loving Anakin killed her birth mother, Breha hid his mental deficiencies because she didn't want the man Padmé loved to end his days in a nuthouse and that killed her adopted mother, Leia won't let Anakin kill Luke as well.

"The merger is economically sound for our company so I won't begrudge you this deal but if you think I'll allow that **creature**  to enter the outside world you got another thing coming. It's bad enough you brought poor Rey to see him, the girl was sweeter than expected and faked a laugh. I won't subject other people to his foul stench."

"Actually, Rhiannon got along wonderfully with our father."

"Our _sire,_ not our father. **Your** father is Obi-Wan Kenobi, **mine** was Bail Organa."

"Rey recognized him as our father, Rhiannon actually told me that she couldn't understand how someone could have a living, breathing father and hate him."

"Rey doesn't know what he did in Mexico or how he killed my mother."

"She does, I told her **everything.** Rey said that he wasn't in the right state of mind after losing mother and probably didn't mean to kill Breha, she even said that he must have loved our mother beyond all logic because forty three years later his finest compliment for Rhiannon was comparing Rey to Padmé."

Of course little orphan Rey would say that. Little Rey who cried when Leia told her she could eat whatever she wanted in the kitchen and no she wouldn't be locked up in the closet with rats if she ate Maz's freshly baked cookies. Rey who scribbled the names of her fictional sons and/or daughters with Jacen in heart shapes and added a note to said fictional children saying she'd never hurt them, leave them or die before they were all adults with kids. Rhiannon who looked at their family portrait the way desert travelers look at an oasis. Rhiannon Mair Kryze who came to them from an orphanage and told Lor San Tekka she'd begged God for a new mommy and daddy in her bedtime prayers. Of course that girl would accept Anakin.  _She's just like Luke: so desperate to find what can never be recovered that they'll accept a demon if they share blood with him/her._

"If that's how Rey thinks then I'm glad you had the good sense to keep that girl away from Jacen. The last thing we need is people like her around."

"People like her?"

"Folks with no grasp on reality. Rey's a nice girl but she's playing make-believe when she should be adapting to life as it is."

"If all your party guests are the reality and Rey's make-believe then I choose the pretend world Leia. The fantasy realm created a woman who's kind and thoughtful and smart enough to let go of hate when it's necessary. Better a Welsh orphan that makes a dumb old farmer smile than all your dollhouse society."

 _Luke's good mood didn't come from the park, it came from spending time with Rhiannon. Luke is falling head over heels with Rey...._  What kind of love potion did that Welsh girl brew that enamored both her son and her brother in less than a week?!? Okay, she can understand how she wooed Jacen but Luke!!! Luke was content to spend his remaining days in complete celibacy and he wasn't afraid to prove it. Han and Leia tried for years to match him with a woman, they"d set Luke up on countless dates during his leaves from the war. Then when he came back Leia presented him to some very nice widowed mothers, thinking that Luke loved children and perhaps he'd loosen up at the sight of kids. All in vain, each and every one of those women referred to Luke as 'courteous but disinterested'. By the third year of blind dates he told Leia that he wouldn't marry anyone they recommended so they should stop trying. No, Luke doesn't want a respectable woman or a no risk life. Not for Luke Skywalker, no he'd rather visit the monster that nearly strangled a secretary 'cause he thought she was a mercenary' and judge Leia for hating the man who caused Bail Organa's lifelong depression while he commits treason from his fucking pedestal to illogical convictions.

"And what world is that: the one where you and Doctor Guevara trade letters and you hand him classified information using your army status or the one where Manolo Tavares Justo* writes to you in Latin about constitutional rights and guerilla tactics?"

 _Holy cow, the shock on his face..._ "You thought I didn't know about your little Communist friends in Mexico or the Dominican Republic Luke? I've been keeping evidence from the G-Men for years."

"So what are you going to do sis? Let Hoover have me? Sink me and you drown yourself, obstruction of Justice is a very serious crime."

No, she won't harm Luke's causes, it would be cruel to hurt Luke's revolutionary friends in Latin America and hypocritical as well but she can use this new development with Rey to free Luke from that **_thing._** She thinks about Han and how he braved the blazing fires of Guernica to save her. About Father Kenobi and his forbidden love affair with Duchess Satine. About Henry VIII and how he broke away from Rome to sleep with Anne Boleyn. If Luke loves or at least lusts for Rhiannon then he might realize how toxic his relationship with Anakin is, how Anakin's way of making him think their world is fake instead of important is wrong. Luke won't yearn for a demon's rapport if he has a young, gorgeous thing to keep him company, he'll forget all about that stupid promise to get Anakin out into the world where the devil might strangle a bypasser or burn somebody else to death. It's well known that between oaths and God and sex, lust always wins with only the saints for exceptions.

"Bellevue for Anakin or Paris for Rey." _It's a no brainier. A guide dog wouldn't stay with Anakin, let alone a grown man._  

His eyes swim with disbelief and Leia knows then he truly loves Rey because otherwise the offer wouldn't have shook him badly enough for him to take his palms and trace over the same places Rey's mechanic hands touched in the photo.

"Leia-"

"Do you love her?"

"It's only been three days-"

**"Do-you-love-her?!?"**

"Leia: please don't make me choose."

It's not a choice, she wants to tell him. 'Nobody else would even consider choosing the beast over Cinderella' dances on the tip of her tongue but Leia's aware the words will act as bullets in yet another game of chance and they've both tired of playing Russian Roulette. _Nobody's that selfless._ Bant showing up with the bag of hot chocolate she pobably had to pick up from the store halts their conversation. Luke's stare fills with determination and Leia knows he's made his choice.

"Bant, please buy two tickets for the Liberté. One in the name of Rhiannon Kryze and the other by the name of Luke Skywalker."

 _You're going to Paris with her... You're finally free of him!!!_ "When will you and Rey go together?" 

She says it hopefully, she says it happily because at long last Luke can start over and give up that ridiculous notion of asking if she wants to see her mother's killer every day of the week. His grin is the same hollow curl she's seen in every photo without her children for the past sixteen years. It sends shivers down Leia's spine to see that plastered falsehood directed at her.

"Rey's going on the boat, I'm staying right here until next year when I move away with Father. And after that **_never_** speak to me as anything other than a business associate again."  _Luke **is** that selfless, why can't he ever act like everyone else would in these situations? Why do you still choose family even when said family brings you nothing but pain big brother? Saint Luke Skywalker, patron of filial loyalty._

"Luke, don't do this to yourself. I promise I won't move him to Bellevue, it was just a threat. **Please** believe me."  _Please choose your own happiness..._

He scoffs in a way that his nineteen year old self would have labeled cynical or bitter.

"I can't believe you Leia: you hate father enough for me to know that promise has no validity. Tell Bant to arrange for flowers and the typical 'I'm sorry' gifts in Rey's cabin along with a bank account with 50 thousand dollars in it. Put in some company shares for Lor San Tekka, the Damerons and the Calrissians as well."

Generous, always generous to others but seldom to himself. She can practically hear Bail Organa scolding her from heaven as her brother closes the door on his twin. Leia begs God to forgive her as she hears him sob because she won't be able to forgive herself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *G-Men: old slang for members of the FBI.  
> *Dharasana Satyagraha was a protest against the British salt tax in colonial India in May, 1930. It was led by Abbas Tyabji, a seventy-six-year-old retired judge, leading the march with Gandhi's wife Kasturba at his side. Once both leaders and hundreds more were arrested and/or tortured by British authority the march continued under Sarojini Naidu, a Hindi woman poet and freedom fighter.  
> *Dot-head: racist slur coined by British Imperialists for Indians. It refers to the "bindi" (dot) on their foreheads. The dot's significance relates to the marital status of an indian female. Red dot: married; Black dot: single.  
> *This was a common interrogation method considered 'mild' in 1920-30s Colonial India.  
> *Creedmoor has allowed patient to send gifts to loved ones under supervision since 1927.  
> *A common line of thought during the 19th century and all the way to the 1940s was that mental illness was the fault of the patient's parents committing some sort of sin. Some people still have this mentality towards physical and mental diseases.  
> *Manolo Tavares Justo was the founder of the 14th of June movement, a leftist clandestine group opposed to the dictatorship of Rafael Trujillo. It was founded in 1960 but Manolo was already gathering support against Trujillo since 1953, basically Finn saw a plot to overthrow a totalitarian government supported by the United States in chapter 2.  
> Hands out tin cup: Comments please????


	11. Chapter 11

Evening May 7th, 1954 (Rey's POV)

She comes to the Skywalker office building in a illusion neckline blue navy cocktail dress with pastel and silver swirl embroidery on the bodice, using the dress's matching three-quarters sleeves acetate bolero to keep away that chill Maz warned her about. The first thing that pops into her mind is "I see the gilded part your Majesty but not the cage." Fortunately, Luke's not around when she stupidly blurts out those words. Determined to see the other part behind the business Rey walks around the upper floor to see what makes this multi-billion dollar business tick. The old woman named Jocasta is very nice, she thinks Count Dooku would like her. Miss Nu directs her to the meeting room and tells Rey Mister Skywalker will be informed of her arrival. She remembers suddenly how Poe mentioned Luke was the smartest person in the building because his office was right next to the meeting room and all he had to walk from there was fourteen steps to the right. It's when she steps into his office that she sees the cage. It is an office straight out of the old Fortune magazine she read in that dentist office, apart from some pictures, a catholic cross and a few framed children's drawing Rey saw his niece and nephews make nothing about this place shows any signs of Luke as a person. After declaring the office gloomy she steps back into the meeting room and decides to have some fun. In a mock business transaction she spins on the chair over and over again and pounds her fist on the table.

"All right: the meeting of the Board of Directors of Skywalker Industries will now come to order. As the chairman of the board, I would like to say at the outset ......the chairman is so dizzy."

"Meeting adjourned. Have a cup of hot chocolate."  _Oh, there you are.. Of course you came just in time to watch me behave in a completely childless manner._

"It's not what it looks like. I'm just preparing myself for when I'm head of Engineering like your father wants, you won't find me playing any loony games."

"Oh, is that so? Shame, I only give hot chocolate to women capable of having fun."

Rey snatches the steaming beverage away from his hands and sticks her tongue out at him for fun, forgoing all pretense. Rhiannon watches Luke smile, she's beginning to grow accustomed to the sight of his Majesty's lovely grin that highlights his dark gold and silver locks and makes his pale blue eyes dance. But there's something else in that gaze today she can't figure out. _Luke is staring at me as if he wants to engrave this silly moment in his mind; the way I carved every inch of Mother's face before her coffin was laid to rest six feet under._

"Luke? Is there something wrong?"

"Everything's fine. Why do you ask?"

"Your right hand twitched again."

Luke rubs the aforementioned hand against his temple and sits on the same chair she spun. Deep in thought to the point where Rhiannon's not sure if she could reach him if she spoke. He takes out a Victorian 18 karat cased gold enamel and pearl pocket watch and opens the hatch to stare at it. She walks over to stand behind him and see whatever clasped on to his attention so fiercely, expecting to find a picture of Mara Jade Skywalker but instead she sees a painting of Padme Naberrie Amidala and a very tall blonde man Rey's never seen before. In what is probably an invasion of privacy she leans in a little closer to catch a better glimpse of the man, when she recognizes him as Anakin she worries about Luke's father. Is he sick? Is he dying? Is that why Luke was so desperate for him to see somebody other than his only beloved son? Because soon he wouldn't see anybody ever again and Luke wanted or **_needed_** someone besides him and a few nurses to remember the old man fondly?  _It broke my heart to lose my father and everybody loved him, it would be even worse for Luke because he's the only one in the business or his family that doesn't ignore Anakin Skywalker's existence...._

 "Majesty?....Luke? Please tell me. Is something the matter with Anakin? He's not sick is he?"

His pale blue eyes return from whatever dark place they entered. Now she knows exactly how Finn and Poe and Lor San Tekka felt when her mind crawled back to her family's apartment.

"There's a plan I'm about to carry out. It affects my father but not in the way you think. It's going to affect me in a way that no other plan has done so before, I'm not sure if I have the strength to go through with it. Rhiannon: I know you're good at keeping secrets. Could you keep just one more for me?" 

_Anything if it means I never have to see the stars in your eyes dim so suddenly again._ "Yes, of course I can."

Luke offers her his hand and she's pleased that he didn't put on those stupid gloves for her as his calloused palm guides her to the uptown harbor.

"You see that boat on the French Line pier Rhiannon? That's the Liberté. It sails on Thursday. I bought a ticket."

Her smile is probably goofy but she doesn't care. "You did?"

"Yes, I did. I'm sick of pushing buttons, sick of feeling like a bug on a microscope, sick of this office. I'm breaking out, Rhiannon. I'm running away. But I'm worried about father. He'll be so alone without me."

"Well, if you explain things to him maybe I could visit him for you? He didn't seem to mind my company."

_Why are you crying Luke? What kind of world have you lived in that makes you stare at me the way pilgrims do at the Madonna after I said that while drying those tears?_   "You'd really do that for him?"

"I'm not in the habit of lying. If I offered it's because I'm willing to do it. Besides Anakin loves you, I'm sure he won't begrudge you going away if you hate this lifestyle. I saw how much he cares about you."

"I'll just tell him I've been thinking about Paris ever since you mentioned it and it's all your fault, Rhiannon." 

"No, blame Leia's temper, that way he won't hate me when I come see him. Paris'll make a new person out of you. I guarantee, or double your money back. Oh, Luke, I'm so glad you're going. Or am l?"

 Miss Jocasta chooses that moment to remind them of their dinner plans at the Colony. Luke opens a drawer and picks up the brown linen accessories to strategically veil himself. Just like that Rey feels uncomfortable at the sight of him hiding, seeing the sweet and thoughtful man she's come to know bear a staple of 'the unflinching business man with no emotions. Just ice water for blood and ticket tape for veins' as Time Magazine called him. 

"Luke. Let's skip the Colony. I know a place that's loads better but you have to lose the gloves and the fancy suit."

If the look on his face is anything to go by, Luke didn't expect her place to be a little Irish restaurant just at the edge of Hell's Kitchen. Lando had taken her and Poe and Finn there on her fifteenth birthday for Shepherd's Pie and to this day this restaurant still holds her favorite version of the dish. When she asks if he's been here before he replies that he went in 1930 when it was still a speakeasy. Luke Skywalker: eternally full of surprises. At the beginning Luke seems a bit uncertain, as if asking himself how to just be human. Then the Irish-Welshman owner Wedge Antilles taps him on the shoulder, asks if he's "Commander Skywalker" and Rey sees the same grin her own face must have shown when reuniting with Sister Tano.  _How nice of him to see an old friend_   _again. Oh a few other men are gathering around him, that's nice. Wait why is he calling me over? I don't know these people...But propriety demands I walk over anyway._

 "There you are. Guys, this is Rhiannon Mair Kryze. Also known as Rey. Rhiannon, these are my old squadron buddies Wedge Antilles, Wes Janson and Klivian who prefers to be called Hobbie."

"Pleased to meet you all. Well, Wedge I already knew but still. Mister Antilles, you never told me and Finn that you're friends with Luke."

"Sorry plentyn* but you never asked."

Her cheeks fluster at that and Luke acts more freely in this cheap-furnished room with these devil-may-care yet charming people than every single party she's ever watched from up on her tree in the Skywalker Manor. Rey expects him to forget about her, after all these are people he hasn't seen in ages and they've got so much to catch up on. He includes her in every conversation, sometimes he even holds her hand and reassuringly traces his fingers around her knuckles. That's why it doesn't surprise her when Janson asks Luke how long he and Rey have been a couple though it certainly surprises Luke, who is quick to tell them that no, they're not together that way and 'besides Wes have some common dignity. I'm old enough to be her father'. It does surprise when Mister Antilles assures Luke that they don't have to be embarrassed because Rey is so young, Hobbie's 'she seems very nice and mature for her age. A blind man could see you care about her. If you're happy that's all that matters Commander' all but freezes her on the spot. (It's nothing serious, they're just older men cracking a joke based on Luke's habit of caring for everybody.) She's still repeating those words in her head when they eat, especially since her long-time nickname for Luke slipping out added to Rogue Squadron's belief that they're together. 

"Do you have any advice for Paris? Any clue on what I should do?"

"You're not helping me convince your friends say we're not a couple if you talk about the city of love Majesty."

"Who cares? We're surrounded by people that **won't** sell us out to the nearest newspaper or fan magazine. We can talk about anything right now and I like that little twinkle in your eyes when you mention Paris. They go from hazel to emerald with just the tiniest brown in them."

_Damn your silver tongue._ "All right: This is what you do on your very first day in Paris. You get yourself some rain. Not just a drizzle, but some honest-to-goodness rain. Then you find yourself someone really nice and drive her through the Bois de Boulogne in a taxi. The rain's very important because that's when Paris smells its sweetest. It's the damp chestnut trees, you see?" 

 "I think I see?"

"You're very clever Luke and very wise. You can order yourself some rain."

"Sure. I can order myself some rain. I can get myself a taxi. That's easy. But can I find myself someone really nice? That's not so easy, Rhiannon."

"Suppose you meet someone on the boat, the very first day? A complete stranger. Your personal Count Dooku, but in your case it would have to be female and possibly an expert in the art of not getting pissed when you don't ea-"

"What is it?"

"You're eating the cake!!!"

"Yeah, nobody bakes an apple cake like the Celts. What's so amazing about me eating cake?"

"Luke: I've lived in your house ever since I was seven and in that time I've always been able to rely on three things: 1) Leia Skywalker Solo will never walk out the house with unruly hair. 2) Maz Kanata kisses Chewie every day before sunshine and finally 3) Me, Finn and Poe annually getting your birthday cake when you haul it down the dumbwaiter. What's so special about this cake anyhow? You're eating the same way Lor eats Baath* .

Lor who grew up on a rice farm in Goa, India and would probably be mocked at a gala if he ate there. Lor says he knows all the proper ways to hold cutlery but when eating a food he grew up with his mind goes into 'instinct' and he eats the same as he did growing up in squalor. For Luke to have that mechanism his aunt must have been a good baker and then when he had his first gala...

She doesn't want to think of the further implications: Luke is going to Paris soon, he'll be free to do and wear whatever he wants and eat what he wants soon. They go through all the slow dances quietly after dinner, Luke holds onto her waist the way Errol Flynn did whilst saying goodbye to Olivia de Havilland in "They Died with Their Boots On.*" She asks him about his French after they're both left gasping for breath once they finish the treble jig and finds out that Luke's french is actually better than hers due to learning it in the Anti-Nazi Resistance where, according to him, if you didn't know French, Spanish or German then you were dead meat. He inquires if it's possible for her to teach him a few Welsh words here and there. 'How do you say: my nephew has a pretty pencil' makes her giggle, 'How do you say: Han I'm gonna murder you and serve you to Leia as barbecue' causes her to mock-horror gasp, 'How do you say: i wish I was my nephew?' leaves them both in silence all the way to the car drive home in which she sings La Vie En Rose to suppress the urge to turn down the brim of his hat. 

"Why are you looking at me that way?"

"All night long I've had a terrible impulse to do something."

"Go ahead, for what you gave me tonight I'll grant you anything."

"I'm going to do it. There." (She turns down the brim of his hat.)

"What's that for?"

"We can't have you walking up and down the Champs Elysees looking like a tourist undertaker. And another thing, never a briefcase in Paris and never an umbrella. There's a law."

"How am I ever going to get along in Paris without someone like you? Who'll be there to remind I'm allowed to be human? To turn down the brim of my hat?"

"Suppose you have a little more faith in the kindness of strangers?"

"I have a better suppose, Rhiannon. Suppose I were ten years younger. Suppose you weren't in love with Jacen. Suppose I asked you to ... Oh, I suppose I'm just talking nonsense."

"Ramble, yes but never nonsense Majesty."

"Suppose you sing that song again? A little slower please?"

 She complies to his wish as they drive into the Garage. To her complete shock Jacen is standing there in pajamas and a robe. This time Rey is the one who goes 'right...Jacen' in her head. Young, bright, charming Jacen that didn't care that she polluted Jaina's roller skates with 'poor people germs' as Professor Hux would say. Luke's nephew walks over to them with a slight limp and smiles cheekily at the sight of them.

"Hi! I overheard Lando and Maz bet on whether you two had eloped. I wouldn't mind, but not in my car."

"Hello Jacen."

"So what'd you and Uncle Luke do together?"

"We went dancing and I started teaching your uncle Welsh."

"You're a miracle worker Rhiannon. Last time he went alone with a non-related woman he almost bored her to death with Dow Jones averages, corporate structures, excess-profits taxes and my personal favorite: the evils of United Fruit Company."

"Don't joke about the last one kid. How are you feeling nephew?"

"Great. Just can't dance faster than a snail's pace yet. Hey, what's with the homburg? "

(Luke turns up the brim of his hat.) "I guess the undertaker had better turn in, and you'd better crawl back into bed before Threepio finds you. Wouldn't wish his yelling on my worst enemy. Nus da, Rhiannon."

"It's Nos da for good night but you get points for trying." 

Luke walks away after picking up his briefcase and black umbrella, Rey hopes she's helped him find the strength to go through with his plan. She meant what she said about visiting Anakin, the old man had been a little out of touch with reality but overall there's plenty of worse traits a person could have. Maybe she can convince Jacen to visit his grandfather, surely Leia's stance on him doesn't extend to the next generation...  _Oh wait Jacen's touching my hand, that means he's trying to talk to me._

"Uncle Luke's a bit dull now and then but there's a heart of gold in there. It's just buried deep, he cares too much so he has to shut it away before it takes too much damage." _You love him, don't you Jacen? Your description of him is more accurate than all the magazines. That actually makes me feel a little more confident about us, now that I know you see people._

"Kiss me Jacen."

"I'd love to Rhiannon."  _I'm bonkers, a perfectly good kiss and I want it to feel like it did at the tennis court.._

"Again.  ...That's better."

"So...you. I've been thinking about you."

"Have you? What were you thinking?"

"I think we never had that drink in the tennis court."

"No we didn't. Luke went in your place. Jacen: what happens next?"

"I ask Maz to get us some champagne on the sly. We pick up where we left-"

"And after?"

"That's the fun part. After opens a whole new world of possibilities. We'll have a wonderful time, darling. We'll build ourselves a raft and drift across the Pacific like Kon Tiki. Or climb the highest mountain, like Annapurna, just the two of us. "

She likes the sound of that, the perfect twist to a Cinderella story without the boring part where the newly-minted princess has to stay all life long in a stuffy castle. It plays like an adventure, a swash-buckling tale of romance and excitement with little room for emotional constipation. It sounds fun and easy ( _You know easy can be deceitful...)_

"Keep talking Jacen. Keep talking."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *plentyn: kid in Welsh.  
> *They Died with Their Boots On is a 1941 black-and-white American western film from Warner Bros. Pictures that stars Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland. The film's storyline offers a highly fictionalized version of the life of Gen. George Armstrong Custer, from the time he enters West Point military academy through the American Civil War and finally to his death at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. Custer is portrayed as a fun-loving, dashing figure who chooses honor and glory over money and corruption. The battle against Chief Crazy Horse is portrayed as a crooked deal between politicians and a corporation that wants the land Custer promised to the Indians. Despite its historical inaccuracies, the film was one of the top-grossing films of 1941. It was the eighth film collaboration between Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland.  
> * Baath: semolina and coconut cake, traditional Christmas dish in Goa. Up until the 1910s it was seen as poor people food by the elite Indian Class and the British.  
> Hands out tin cup: comments please????


	12. Chapter 12

Morning May 8th, 1954 (Poe's POV)

Maybe it's wrong to hide in the laundry room right now but this is the only place in the mansion that's completely quiet until 7 am. Poe needs quiet if he's going to figure out the mystery laid before him. There's a paper on his hands saying his family is now entitled to 1,500 shares of Skywalker Preferred. The young man's been staring at the letter for about ten minutes, trying to make sense of this situation. Mama and Papa never wanted money, much less asked for it. Heck, the last time Mister Luke attempted to raise his father's salary Papa took Master Skywalker's offered check and told him "Ya tu pagaste todo al encargarte de la seguridad de mi hijo.*" So why is there a yellow, menacing slip of paper telling the Dameron family that they're set for life? Is it a reward for loyalty? Part of a plot to lure them into admitting they were members of the Spanish Socialist Party?  _Ay Dios Mio, what it's a plot for me and Mister Luke because of our 'business' in the Dominican Republic?_

"Poe? Is everything all right?"

He's met with the sight of Rey wearing a blue cotton sun dress in a pretty brushed floral print with nipped waist, full pleated skirt, sleeveless bodice with blue trim, rhinestone pronged bodice, inverted hip pockets with matching blue trim and buttons all the way up the back. She'd be perfection itself if not for the fact Rhiannon already stained that masterpiece of clothing with all climate Valvoline Motor oil. Shame, it looked really nice on her. Rey tells him to averts his eyes until she puts on her pale pink nylon & lace nightgown. The smell of cornstarch tells him that Rey's left the dress to soak in the cooking ingredient so she can wash it later. 

"Poe: I'm decent. You can look now."

"How'd you get motor grease on this anyhow?"

"Simple: I changed the 1950 Ford's oil. Lor's wound was acting up so I did it for him"

"In that dress!?!?"

"Poe: it's just clothes. They're to be lived in, not sheltered."

Moments like this are the reason he's never wanted Rey to enter the doll-house society that comes with marrying Jacen Solo. He's waited for more of their parties than they can count and seen things that must only make sense for rich people: why do you laugh if a woman goes to a gala with the same dress two years in a row? why do you spend hundreds of dollars on fancy appetizers that are only nibbled by all the young people? why do they greet folks who you just cursed seconds earlier with a smile but sneer at the servants with whom there's no quarrel? Rey would wither in that snakes's den. She'd be too smart for a trophy wife, too low born for all the blue bloods and too spirited to prevent a scandalous reputation because apparently women are meant to be wax models in that world, instead of rational human beings. His surrogate little sister is a misplaced person if there ever was one: too real for the galas, too magnificent for the garage.

"What's that in your hand Poe?"

"A paper saying I'm rich."

"You won the lottery? That's wonderful!"

"No, I didn't win the lottery!!! But somehow me and the folks ended up with 1,500 company shares!!"

"Probably Luke's goodbye present to your family."

His eyes probably pop like corn on a kettle that moment cause as far as Poe knows Luke doesn't have any plans for leaving a day, let alone long enough to warrant this type of farewell present. Rey takes advantage of his stupefied state to inform Poe of Master Skywalker's escape to Paris tomorrow, claiming he wants to stops feeling like a bug on a microscope. Poe can believe that, Master Luke has never really felt at peace in the filthy-rich society he lives in. Mama always said that if Master Han and Mistress Leia hadn't needed him then Luke Skywalker would have run away years ago. Still, it kinda hurts to think that Luke wasn't gonna say a proper goodbye to him and the family. He was sure two decades of loyalty warranted that at the very least. If not for Poe at least for his parents. Rey keeps talking about Paris and Poe notices something different in Rhiannon's hazel irises now when she mentions Luke: a touch of scarlet blush just below her eyes which seem to have developed a twinkle far too genuine for mere story-telling. (He can practically feel his mother's chancleta flying for labeling stories 'mere'.) Rey is in love with Luke Skywalker, the man's won her heart and Rhiannon's denying it but her soul won't let him go without a fight.  _Why does the universe have to keep proving Lando Calrissian right? First the Iron Curtain and now this...._

Poe keeps his mouth shut about Rey's falling in love and Luke's escape to Paris as he heads out to work for Leia at 7:15 am in the morning. BB-8 barks farewell at him as Finn waves while tending to the oleanders. Pure, wonderful Finn that Anakin Solo loved as an older brother despite their class and racial differences. Charming, dramatic Finn that has no idea his best friend is a lousy sodomite, that the reason he could see the emotions Rey refuses to acknowledge so easily is because her eyes had the same look he's cast at Finnegan Calrissian ever since he was sixteen and found, to his equal curse and blessing that his were the only arms he wanted for longer than a cheap one night stand.  _I'm so sorry buddy, but I promise you'll never have to tolerate my pillow-biting. Hugging you is far as I'll go._  He says the words over and again till his tongue hurts, a routine practiced every day Poe drives on his own to Skywalker Industries.

Mistress Leia lightly berates him for being late, informing Poe that she had to make the coffee herself. He types for two hours, makes a  **decent** cup of coffee for him and Leia, sets up the meeting room and finally at 10am Poe Dameron goes to visit Luke Skywalker's office to find out why he didn't tell anyone about this so-called trip to Paris. He knows instantly that Luke's only planned journey is on a one-way flight to Melancholy land. Master Luke's eyes are the same as what his looked like when Finn went to college, deeply afraid that he'd come back with a girlfriend. The gaze of someone who is deeply and passionately in love but recognizes the reasons why being together is impossible so he stays behind to suffer quietly. Great, Luke's an idiot and Rey's an idiot, yippee.

"Oh, I'm sorry Poe. I didn't see you come in."

"No harm done. Mister Skywalker: I've got to ask you something. There was a paper this morning-"

"Your family earned those shares, Poe."

"Feels like you're trying to make up for something. But that's not right cause you've been great to us. Can't be the Calrissians you hurt cause Lando would be vocal about it. So that leaves either blood family members or Rey and if you hurt Rhiannon then I don't care if you give me a billion dollars I'm gonna kill you right now!!!"

"You'll have to wait until tomorrow then. That's when I hurt Rhiannon."

"Wait, what do you mean? Master Luke: what you are planning?"

"Rey thinks I'm hopping on a boat to Paris. She's going on that boat, thinking we'll be together but all she'll find is a note and 50 thousand dollars."

"I never thought you'd do something like this."

The words aren't a lie, they are the deepest truth Poe has uttered in a long, long time. Luke Skywalker is a good man, he was famous for being mean to the elite and reporters but anyone who talked to the employees could tell you there was no better patron. Mister Skywalker's shit at lying, manipulation only comes to him when there's more at stake than his own hide. No bad man would cut his own salary and divide it among his employees to cut expenses during the scare of 48 like Mister Skywalker did. So why would the man who asks Poe permission to recommend directions do something like this to Rhiannon? Luke loves her, so why isn't he actually going to Paris with her? Wait there is one thing of his they might threaten that would leave him desperate enough to pull this sham...

"Are the Feds threatening Han and Jaina?"

"No. Why are you asking that Poe?"

"Is it Leia then? Is she in trouble for retracting company support from China?"

"Please leave me **_alone_** Damerón."

"Does it have to do with Anakin?"  _His hand twitched, yep that's the cause of all this._

Poe was there in 1938 when Luke and Mara managed to bring old man Skywalker from Bedlam to America. Before that he'd come visiting with them in the 37, where his eyes were opened to the grim horrors within asylum walls: the little boy had wandered into the wrong room of the nuthouse by accident and was met with what is still the worst sight of his life: a doctor dissecting the dead* as if these poor people had been guinea pigs. Master Luke found Poe before the doctor caught sight of him but that meant Luke also saw the fate that could befall his own father if he didn't get out of that horrid place. If there's anything going with Anakin Poe is one of the few people with whom Luke might share the truth. 

"Okay, so it's Anakin. What happened?"

"I had to choose between Rey or my father. Rhiannon has you and Finn and Lor and Maz and Chewie. Father only has me, Father Kenobi and Sister Tano to protect him. Out of those three I'm the only one capable of vetoing Leia's decision to put him on Bellevue."

"But Bellevue is far less progressive than Creedmoor. For all she knows they could still dissect people."

"Poe: she doesn't want to know. It's easier to hate him if she doesn't see what he went through in there."

"Master Luke: what if she didn't mean it?"

"Then why proclaim it so fiercely? Why reject every Christmas gift he ever sent her? Getting Leia to accept Anakin's a lost cause, all I can do is keep him safe from her."

 _Mierda Senor Skywalker why do you always have to be so insightful?_ Poe watches as Luke keeps on working once the younger man has no more to say. The middle age entrepreneur bids him a good day. It's not fair, Mister Skywalker shouldn't have to give up Rey before getting to realize he loves her. He shouldn't lose the woman he cares about **twice.** Why do the good men like Mister Luke all have tragedies while Franco gets to go home with his wife and kids? Enough is enough, Luke's been taking the blows in silence way too long and somebody besides Han Solo ought to save him from the next one. Pascual Ovidio Ezequiel Damerón may be a fairy but even hellbound fruits can stick up for the folks they love.

It is most definitely uncouth of him to drive Leia away from the office instead of turning round the corner at lunch hour when Luke leaves the building to put flowers on Mara Jade Skywalker's grave as tradition demands but Poe's beyond caring at this point. Luke has just proven that even poor people who are now rich are still manipulated by blue bloods like Leia Organa whom Dad calls 'good heart, loopy point of view.' He takes her to the cemetery on Willard State Psychiatric hospital, precisely because the dead patients' tombs have no name. Just grim hospital serial numbers, reflecting folks chained by their 'oddity' even in death.

"What do you see here Mistress Leia?"

"Tombs?"

"Right, tombs. Unnamed tombs with only numbers. So look around Mistress Leia. Where do you want to bury Luke Skywalker!!!"

 _Carajo, she slapped me._ "How dare you!!!"

"Someone's gotta tell you the truth around here!!! You're killing him with this festering hate for Anakin!!!"

"Why is it so wrong to hate someone who ruined my father's life?!?"

"Because hating him left Luke alone with a burden. You made him the keeper of Anakin's soul and all the while Master Luke kept it bottled up and tried his best to help everybody. He helped your stupid company, he helped Han and Lando avoid that FBI guy Jabba who wanted to arrest them both for bootlegging and he helped raise your kids. It was easier when he had Mistress Mara to ease the weight off his shoulders but ever since she died Luke hasn't taken anything for himself. He could have changed that with Rey but you robbed him of that."

Leia Organa slapped him but she is also staring intently at him. Poe knows that if he shows her the right thing 'Princess' Leia might see Luke's battle from his perspective. Wordlessly the older woman listens to Poe recall every thing he saw in Bedlam, all the things Luke never told her: the dissections, the wooden cages, the people tied down to beds hard as a frozen lake, the starving figures that seemed more like cadavers with hollow eyes still inquiring why they'd ever lived than humans. About the scars Anakin gained **after**  entering Bedlam. She doesn't ask any questions, apart from the occasional nod Leia is as inmovil as the graves they stand next to. Suddenly Leia cries, large and almost hysterical sobs that reveal a gaping wound that never fully healed. For all that Anakin is known as the 'troubled' one of the Skywalkers, Poe's aware that every member of that family is dysfunctional in one or another. Anakin's just the one whose flaws are hardest to conceal. When Mistress Leia's done weeping she speaks.

"Luke was right. We are prone to 'out of sight, out of mind' in my world. I wouldn't let my worst enemy in there if I'd known what went on inside those gates."

"Well, now you know. What are you gonna do about it?"

"First, I'm going to go home and change this dress."

 _And she lost me..._ "What do you need to change for?"

"I can't apologise to my birth father in a dress that makes me look like a dictator. Hurry up, we're driving home and then to Creedmoor."

Poe Damerón thinks his smile must be an infectious thing since Leia sends a teary grin back at him as they get on the car.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *"Ya tu pagaste todo al encargarte de la seguridad de mi hijo.*"= Spanish for "You payed everything when you ensured my son's safety."  
> *This REALLY happened in many British and American asylums to poor patients whose bodies weren't payed to keep intact up till the late 40s. Example: 1943 stipulation in Bellevue, for 150$ the patient may keep his eyes, tongue and frontal lobe intact post mortem. You see why Luke doesn't want his father there now right? Also New York public health law PBH 4211 allowed all unclaimed corpses to become state property, available for dissection if wanted. Later the remains were buried in large mass graves that some people are still searching for.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Don't hate me for this chapter. I'm just following the movie....

Evening May 8th, 1954 (Rey's POV)

Rey's overdue at the Skywalker office building and she knows it. Luke had wanted to take her to the theater, claimed that if she liked 'Stranger In Paradise' so much then it was only that she saw the musical it came from. At the time she hadn't thought much about the offer, after all rich people go to the theatre often. Luke was probably just giving her a preview of how things went so she wouldn't say or do something ridiculous afterwards. But that was before meeting Anakin Skywalker, before touching Luke's beautiful and hard-working hands, before 'I wish I was my nephew'.... Result: Rhiannon Mair Kryze has walked around Manhattan without eating a morsel. (And really she's famished. Why didn't she grab lunch...Oh, right she had to drive Lando to get the new hyacinths since Poe disappeared with Mistress Leia at noon.) Hours later her mind's no clearer than it was before the bloody walk. Deciding that thought's always mucked with an empty stomach she buys a root beer and French fries on MacDonald's, telling herself she's not that bad a person.

After the small meal Rey decides to stop acting like a coward and walks right over to the Office Building. Once there, she makes her way to the elevator. She's halted by the sight of Anakin Solo's portrait that wasn't there on her last visit, though Maz had spoken of a commission from that Andy Warhol fellow whom Leia's convinced will move on to greater deals and expositions. The painting is good, it shows Anakin Solo as human and not some great icon for people to swear 'things would-have-been better with' every time they get pissed at Mistress Jaina's future decisions in the Company. The corner of her eye catches the elevator man pressing digits on the pay-phone, trying to pretend he's not looking at her. Oh well, Luke was going to find out she was here sooner or later. 

She wipes a hand on her forest green linen dress with cotton leaf appliques, in case of dust and tells the elevator man to please put her on the phone before he gets a word in. Just as she suspected, Luke's voice rings loud and clear through the technological device.

"Hello your Majesty."

 "Rhiannon?  What happened to you?  It's twenty past eight."

"Good evening, Luke. I know I'm late. I guess  I should have called you earlier. I can't see you tonight.  I'm very sorry I just can't make it.  I tried but I'm all tied up. "

"You still on Long Island? I can have Lor San Tekka pick you up."

"No, I'm not in Long Island.  I'm in New York.  Downtown in a phone booth in a building. It makes no difference what building it is Luke. Just know I can't see you tonight."

"You're not in jail right? Cause if you are say the word and I'll bail you out."

"Very funny Luke. I'm in the Skywalker Building,  but I'm not coming up."  
   
"Look, Rhiannon, suppose you tell me exactly what's on your mind, slowly and clearly?  You talk and I'll listen."  
   
(Unbeknownst to her Luke has laid the phone down on his desk.)  
   
"Well, your Majesty the trouble isn't you. You've been wonderful Luke but I shouldn't  have been seeing you, Majesty.  I shouldn't even be talking to you on the phone.  In fact, I'm really only calling to say goodbye because tomorrow you'll be on the boat to Paris-"

(The elevator doors open and Luke steps out into the lobby. He takes a moment to stare at her, to listen to Rey's seraphic voice as she rambles. The man is fully aware he could hear her talk about overripe goat cheese for six hours and he'd still be fascinated.)  
   
"I'm very glad you're going.  You do know that, don't you Luke?  Hello, Luke?  Where are you, Luke?"

"Your three minutes are up."

Oh, that's just peachy. She's been talking to herself like a complete lunatic. At least it wasn't her wasted dime that went into the call.  Luke's mischievous yet sorrowful (dare she say a bit lovestruck?) gaze tells Rey that he's not angry with her. Does anyone read your eyes the way I do? Does anybody else look upon what you let me see or know what you've told me? Stop, it's useless to think that way. He's not in love with you. (But you should stop denying you are....)

"I have a perfectly good reason why I shouldn't see you tonight."

"Not here, Rey."  
   
 Luke and Rey walk into the dark office. She likes it better dark, when all the gilded rubbish is indistinguishable from the poorest trinket. Rey has never been afraid of the dark, at least not the nighttime dark. The evil of men's heart's terrifies her from time to time but Rhiannon loves the starry sky far too much to ever fear the night. Luke's office has a good view of the constellations. He should work at night more often just to see that view.  
   
"All right, Rhiannon, what is that perfectly good reason why you shouldn't see me?  What is it?  What's bothering you my lady knight?"

  _What's bothering me is that I've fallen in love with you. I want us to fix cars together and laugh over nonsense and have beautiful blue-eyed babies with mud hair. I want you to teach me how to grow flowers and see you stumble over phrasing while I teach you Welsh.  I don't want Jacen anymore, maybe I never really did...._

"It's me that's bothering me."   
   
Luke turns on the electric lights and the room becomes a symbol of de-personalization yet again, dimming the starry night's hold over the building. Funny how she keeps finding what everybody else would tear their eyes out for to be hopelessly depressing. He moves to take off her coat.  
   
"Please don't."

"I'm sorry."

"I know I'm not making much sense, Luke."

"Would you like a drink?"

"I don't think I want a drink. Unless it's hot chocolate."

 "All right then. Martini for me, hot cocoa for you.   
   
  Luke walks over to the bar. The elevator doors open and he steps out into the lobby.  

"Why don't you sit down?"

"I can only stay a minute your Majesty."

"Want one of Han's emergency cigars to calm you down Rey?"

"Heavens no! Mark my words: someday they'll find out cigars are poisonous."

The intercom buzzes. Luke answers Miss Bant who inquires about the theatre tickets. He looks at Rey, who replies she can't possibly go anywhere now. As a result Bant gets two theatre tickets and a dinner reservation at the Plaza Hotel. He walks over to the bar again, makes her the promised beverage, which has a peppermint taste she's never associated with hot chocolate before. The source of said taste is quickly discovered once she finishes her cup and sees some dried peppermint leaves at the bottom of her cup. Why do you have to make little gestures like this? It doesn't help me convince myself that I'll be fine watching you sail away forever...

"So Maz said you didn't have any lunch. You must be hungry."

"I hadn't thought about it. But I had some french fries on the way here, I've managed with less."

"Well, I'm starved. I was sort of saving myself for 21 tonight."

"I've spoiled your evening, Haven't I Majesty?"

"No, you haven't. We can have dinner right here.  Let's see what Miss Bant and Madame Nu are hoarding.  Probably maraschino cherries and stale crackers, maybe a bit of that jasmine she makes me... Okay, we have tomato juice, puffed rice, tomato juice, turmeric, corned beef, tomato juice, those jasmine tea leaves I was telling you about and oh, more tomato juice."

"Do you suppose they're afraid of a skunk infestation? It's an awful lot of tomato juice."

 _You have such a lovely form of laughter, I think your smile's half the reason I love you._ "Suppose we could fix something out of this?"

"I suppose so. Have to validate that fake diploma you payed for that says I'm a graduate cook, you know."

"You know Rey, I think if we use these mint leaves there's a recipe aunt Beru had for tomato soup we can alter."

"We?"

"This is the 20th century: if girls can be engineers then boys can help in the kitchen right?" 

On this occasion the urge Rey suppresses is the simple act of kissing him till they have to stop for the sake of breathing. To think she was so set on not going out with him and instead they end up cooking together. Luke mockingly puts his hand over his heart when Rey laughs at the sight of him wearing a pink  apron, although in his defense it seems the other option was a lavender heart pattern apron that was far less appropriate. He tells the key to making good soup is in the seasonings, which means they definitely have to use the turmeric in the cupboard. The older man fondly recalls that Mara preferred using rosemary for this recipe and just like that Rhiannon remembers that she's being stupid by wanting to leave Jacen for a man whose affection she'll have to share with a ghost. _Stupid little orphan 'Rey' why don't you ever learn?_....In spite of her wishes, a treacherous tear escapes from her eyelids. Luke notices, of course he notices. The man even puts the stove on low heat so he can dry that idiot tear off her face.

"Now, Rhiannon, what can I do to turn that frown upwards?"

"I'm so ashamed, Luke."

"You have no reason to be."

"I've only **truly**  known you a few days, just a few days really. And I've been in love with Jacen all my life. I can't understand what's the matter with me. I went away to grow up and I thought I had grown up, but I guess I haven't really. I just learned to be stupid in a different way, that's all. Please say something."

"Rey, I'm out of practice in this. Tell me what you need to hear."

"Say I'm imagining things. Say you never even thought of taking me on the boat to Paris with you. Tell me to put on my coat and run before I make a complete fool of myself. But don't let me go home. I couldn't bear it. This is the last time we'll see each other. I'll behave, Majesty. I'm all right now."

"That's good. Jaina keeps eggs in her office, I can go find some. Adds a whole new flavor to the stew."

She volunteers in his place, sure enough Jaina does have some eggs in her counter (though they must be painted eggs since they're blue.) When she gets back Rey's about to ask Luke for an egg beater when she sees him staring on the ledge that has higher-than-standard bars since 1938, looking at the harbor's ships like a beggar who's been so long without food that once he receives a full plate his hands will shake too much and eating will become a near physical incapability as well as a dream. 

"Which one is the Liberté?"

"The one on the right."

"Are you sure? You mustn't take the wrong boat."

"I'll try not to."

"You haven't forgotten my instructions, have you? Never an umbrella in Paris, and under all circumstances rain the very first day."

"I remember every word Rhiannon: French, English and Welsh. It's important to remember. Cof yw craidd ein byd.*"

"Very good Majesty. I can tell you're practicing. Now, there must be an egg beater here somewhere."

She remembers Poe telling her about how some entrepreneurs keep cooking utensils in their desk. Rey goes over to the sturdy cedar apparatus, and happens to notice two tickets for the Liberté. And suddenly Rhiannon Mair Kryze feels the happiest she's felt since she was 5 years old and her mother bought her a lovely blue ribbon trimmed with Moorish lace that she wore over and over again until she was forced to sell her treasure the next year so father could have some decent food instead of pretending he'd already eaten.   
  
"Luke! Luke! Why didn't you tell me? You do want to take me with you, don't you?"   
  
Rhiannon shows Luke the tickets, drunk with pleasure and already picturing all the nice things she wants to show him in Paris. She can't wait to introduce him to Count Dooku and Ventress and Qui-Gon. Oh Luke we're going to live happily ever after. Where Rey is contentment made flesh, Luke's gaze is regret personified.

"These don't mean what you think they mean."

His stare is the same her parents had when their old workplace closed, the haunted expression of someone who knows the most pleasant of dreams has come to an end. She thinks of his declaration to Wes Janson and decides that Luke must feel embarrassed or is struggling with self-loathing at harboring feelings for someone with such a marked age difference. After all, his first wife was only six months older than him and his sweet mind is probably trying to spare her from the tarnish her reputation would take. But they can be happy together if they see past that, she'll work very hard to make him happy. Hobbie had the right of it when he said that was the most important factor.

"I know why you didn't tell me. Because you think it's wrong. They'll say I'm too young for you, there'll be a awful scandal, and the market will go down. But I don't care: I'm too happy about Luke Skywalker Naberrie taking me to Paris."

"Rhiannon, I... I wasn't going to take you to Paris. I was going to send you."

"Alone?"

"Yes, all alone."

"But there's a ticket for you."  _Please let me right when I think he wouldn't manipulate and lie to me this way..._

"For an empty cabin."

 _I don't believe you. There must be an explanation..._ "You were joining me in Paris, is that it?"

"I'm afraid not. You were right: I was sent to deal with you. I sent myself. And I did a hell of a job. Apart from my origins and Anakin it was all a lie--everything I said to you...From the moment I brought the champagne." 

_Luke lied to me, **Luke lied to me**. He didn't care about me, he was probably laughing his head off over all the silly things I told him. I don't think he lied with Anakin but that must have been how he pulled it off so flawlessly. He summoned vestiges of the person he becomes for his father and gave me a cheap imitation, knowing I was so inexperienced in love that I wouldn't tell the difference between the play-act and reality. I can finally understand why every one of his business partners calls him heartless if he treads over other people's emotions the way he did mine. He's only nice to people that don't interfere in his multi-million dollars deals._

"I think I understand."

 **"Rey...** I'm so sorry."

"But why? Why did you do it, Luke?"

"There was a marriage.There was a merger. You got in the way."

"Jacen?"

Luke nods and she fights back the ever-growing urge to hit him in the face, to yell and scream and kick her way to hell but in the end she does none of that. Rhiannon Mair Kryze may physically possess nothing to her name except an engineering diploma and a fancy wardrobe but she has dignity. She won't let him or any of his narcissistic cannibal world take that away from her the way he just did her happiness. A lady is not someone with a pedigree, it's a woman of fine moral standing and she can think of no better revenge at Luke than to leave him alone, without even her hatred to keep him company.

"How inconsiderate of me. And how inconvenient for you, such a busy man, having to waste so much time to get me on a boat."

"I'm ashamed to say I enjoyed every minute of it."

"And I suppose, in your empty cabin, there would have been a farewell note, dictated to and typed by Miss Jocasta? And perhaps a few flowers."

"A little more than that. A letter of credit. An apartment in Paris. A car. 1,500 shares of Larrabee Preferred for the Calrissians and the Damerons."

"You're very generous."

"It's paying back a debt, you made my father smile, for that I'd give you millions."

"I'll just take one of those tickets."  
  
Luke hands her a ticket. The color is far too cheerful for what it represents. Bright yellow when it should be black to match the mood.

"I was happy in Paris. I think you would have been, too. Good night, your Ma-"

 **No,** she won't call him that anymore. Snow White's prince was honest and sweet and unable to fathom this scale of manipulation. Luke is a king, but not the kind of monarch she wants to emulate. He is Emperor Charles V who carved greatness for his country and for himself but kept his own mother locked up for over 30 years for power of Castille. Maybe Charles V loved Joan the Mad the way Luke loves Anakin, either way it's not a story she wants to be a part of. She wanted a fairytale, not this cold and calculating take on the world they lived in.

 "Good night **Mr. Skywalker.** I'm sorry I can't stay to do the dishes."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Cof yw craidd ein byd: Memory is the core of our world.  
> Hands out tin cup: comments please???


	14. Chapter 14

May 9th, 1954 (Luke's POV) 

He doesn't sleep after Rey's gone. His mind keeps replaying the bright, earnest glow in Rhiannon's hazel irises that shone with no regrets before he extinguished them so cruelly. Luke Cliegg Skywalker Naberrie Lars has a boatload of things he repents but this one night will be, along with the night he lost Mara, the event that haunts him all the way to his deathbed. Maybe even longer than that, perhaps when he dies he'll become Rey's guardian angel just as Mara became his bereavement hallucination. It would be more than he deserves, at least then through some form he could watch the full spark of her eyes from time and time and keep her down-to-earth smile in his afterlife. _**More than a disgusting old man like me is worthy of**..._

"Farmboy!!! What do we say about that line of thinking?" _You're taking longer to show these days darling. I don't want to think about what that means...._

"It's true Mara."

"Luke you are many things: loyal, sweet, pig-headed and a bit of a palooka* sometimes but **never** disgusting, certainly not old."

"No one says Palooka anymore my dear. We're both dead and outdated prunes."

"Me? Sure I've been dead for a while but don't dig your own grave darling. There might be a way to salvage the situation."

"How? Leaving with Rey means dad gets moved to a place where they might pluck his brain. Staying here means I give up Rhiannon... Oh don't look at me that way Mara. It's not so bad. I have you don't I? You're never gonna leave me."

"But I'm not here Luke. I'm not even alive..."  _That's twice in a week I make the woman I love cry. It would all be so much simpler if I'd been the one to die. You'd have handled this mess far better than I Mara._

Luke sits down on the balcony & strokes her beautiful red-gold mane, not caring if someone walks in that moment and finds out how insane he is. For what he did to Rey being locked up in an asylum is fitting. Maybe Leia would be nice enough to put him in one of the hospitals he funded and supervised, the ones he made sure wouldn't allow lobotomies or stealing patient's clothes or post-mortem dissection. Though if they place him on Bellevue he wouldn't mind if father **isn't** placed by Leia there too, under some 'misery is often less potent when shared' line of thought. He stays like that with her till the sun rises, a bit vexed at how she didn't let him drink any alcohol. They watch the stars leave one by one but he doesn't enjoy it anymore. Perhaps he'll never enjoy it again, he can't think of stars without the image of young Rhiannon's pearl earrings absorbing their twinkle as they danced on the tennis court... 

"I'm going to go now Farmboy. Think you can manage without me?"

"Don't worry my love I'll be fine. I'm used to being numb."

"You weren't numb with Rey. I didn't have to show up at all when you were together."

"Jealous Mara?"

"No, I was hoping you were finally moving on. That you'd let me go, allow yourself to heal."

"But who do I have if you're gone? Han is Leia's comfort first and foremost just as Chewie and Lando are Han's. My youngest nephew's dead and his siblings are too wrapped in their respective battlegrounds to help in mine. You and father are the only things that are just mine but father's in a nuthouse so he can't help me. That leaves you as my only real support."

"Rhiannon could be your support if you let her walk beside you. Both of you are cut from poverty's cloth, she might grow to understand you quicker than I did. Plus your first meeting is more romantic than ours. I nearly blew your brains out. She'll make you happy farmboy, all you have to do is go get her."

She's right in that, Mara's always right when it's important. But he wasn't born to be happy, whatever chance he had of that died when Padme Naberrie 'Amidala' passed away. Rey could be happy though, if anyone deserves the fairytale ending it's the woman who saw his father's burns and past his own scars to treat them not as charity cases or freaks but humans desperate for someone to reach out, to be completely honest with, to lov-. No, he won't finish that train of thought. He doesn't deserve Rey, even their names reflect that.

After Rey told about her father naming the girl after a character from Welsh mythology Luke had combed the Manor's large (and expensive) library in order to sate his curiosity regarding the origins of Rey's name. The answer had come from the ancient Welsh folklore book 'The Mabinogion'. Rhiannon was divine queen of the fairies, goddess of the sun, though also affiliated with horses. First appearing in the Mabinogion to Pwyll, King of the new tribes of Dyved, as a beautiful dream vision, riding a glowing white horse. It was love at first sight for the monarch who rode for days just to catch a glimpse of her again. No matter how fast Pywll and his men chased her, she remained elusive. She was aloof and appeared to not notice him.  Finally Pywll asked her to stop and she complied, saying “Since you ask it of me, I will gladly stop.” (Luke had laughed at that section, remembering Rey's refusal to tell him why she called him 'Majesty'. Of course she wouldn't say anything, what right did a king have to command a goddess?) In the ancient tome Rhiannon confesses her love to Pywll and tells him that her father wants her to marry another.  Not only is Pywll smitten, his legitimacy as King is in question and he must marry Rhiannon to prove his sovereignty. He follows her to the Otherworld, the Fairy World, where she promises they will marry. But here he is tricked by Gwawl, Rhiannon’s suitor, into giving Her to him. Rhiannon uses her powerful magic to rid herself of Gwawl and thus manifests her dreams.  Finally she and Pwyll are married and she must leave the world of faery, the bright world, forever though she still had her divine responsibility to pull the sun across the sky each day. The goddess asserted that she harbored no regrets in choosing the world of mortals, such was the strength of her love to the king. Luke stopped reading after that, he wanted to picture them living happily ever after. Instead he found another book on pre-Christian Briton Mitholgy: It said the Sun goddess Rhiannon represented the healing power of love and forgiveness, the one who remains strong even in the hardest times. he was glad of his choice to stop the story then and there, such a description meant the happy couple didn't end on the joyous note in which he left them. 

Luke's family name derived from a Victorian alternative of Sky Traveler, a title used in the Norse poem Þrymskviða to adress Luke's least favorite god in Viking lore. **Skywalker is an appellation for Loki, the Norse god of fire and mischief.** A reference to the god who brought about the noble beloved god Baldur's death, the god so wicked Odin All-Father banished him to the depths of the earth where a serpent drips venom into his entrails day in and day out. only Loki's wife Sigyn offers a slight alleviation by placing a basket over his head to prevent the venom from hurting him, but each time she fails Loki's scream create Midgard's earthquakes. The fairies's realm has no place near the underworld, the goddess of sovereignty who protected the king from treachery has no place near the lie-smith foretold to slip free from his bonds and to fight against the gods in Ragnarok.

But someone else might fit in the realm of fairies, the person she wanted all along.... When Madame Nu arrives at his office he knows what must be done.

"Good morning Mr. Skywalker. You seem tired, did you have a rough night."

"You have no idea. Please get that pad. We have things to do. Are you ready?"

"Yes, Mr. Skywalker."

"First, I want Han Solo, his wife Leia Skywalker Solo, Mr. Isolder Djo and Mrs. Teneliel Djo here in this office as soon as possible. Better have a large pack of ice and bandages around. We're calling off the wedding."

"We are?!?!?"

"Yes, second I want to donate all those Gardenias to Little Flower Children and Family Services of New York*." 

"Anything else, Sir?"

"Just one more thing: Here's a ticket for the Liberté. Have it transferred to the name of Jacen Solo. You better get his passport out and make sure it's in order. Next, locate Jacen. The boat sails at noon. Try the house and if he isn't there try Dr. Plo Koon. Try everywhere, but get him."

"Do you still want me to send all those presents to Miss Kryze's cabin?"

"No. We're sending Jacen instead."

When the old woman steps out of his office Luke Skywalker gets down on bended knee and begs each every saint he can think of and then some to let this be the right decision to make.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *palooka: man who is not very smart in 30s slang.  
> “Little Flower House of Providence for Homeless Colored Children”, a residential center for orphaned, abandoned, and neglected children, founded by Monsignor Bernard J. Quinn in 1929. It's still active today as a not-for-profit charity serving children, families, and individuals with developmental disabilities across New York City and Long Island.  
> Hands out tin cup: comments please?????


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Since I only have two more chapters left I'm going to make a request:
> 
> Could more people write Luke/Rey please??? I'm sick and tired of how Reylo (which I find highly abusive, with elements of Stockholm syndrome and so many other things that make me wonder how people can ship this!!!!) has hundreds of new fics per week but Luke who even in his Extremely OCC state of TLJ is worlds better than the wannabe Sith Lord barely gets shipped at all!!!!

A few hours after chapter 14, May 9th 1954 (Jacen's POV)

Contrary to what his parents and maybe uncle Luke might believe Jacen Solo is not an idiot. He was completely aware that Isolder and uncle Luke used his budding relationship with Tenel Ka to bring about their family's merger. It was glaringly obvious to him that uncle Luke wanted Clopazine to benefit his little brother's namesake, he was surprised Mom and Dad didn't put the pieces together but then again it wasn't that alarming. They probably saw the economic advantages to be had instead of micro-analyzing Uncle Luke's motivations. At the time he hadn't minded, back then his days revolved around finding baby Allana. Every night that passed without a morning telegram from the North Korean embassy meant another day where Anakin Solo's little girl was growing up in a foreign country while her relatives had no idea if she was scared or hungry or sleeping in the cold. Mother worried it was becoming an obsession and he didn't blame her. He'd abandoned all his old habits to spend hours on end at foreign affairs, skipped god knows how many parties reading lists of possible orphanages he hadn't already checked, he spoke Korean more often than English some times. 

Tenel Ka had saved him that day they met on the Korean Embassy, when she was petioning for an investigation to find the unlucky thirteen nurses lost in 1953. He and Tenel Ka shared a common problem in their search: two governments that preferred the evidence they were unearthing to stay hidden. They began to work together after that, comparing each other's information and helping one another when it was possible. Somewhere along the way he decided the worst thing about Tenel Ka was her refusal to smile. The woman smiled less than Uncle Luke in parties and that was not an easy record to break. So he started making jokes here and there on their breaks, then that transitioned into taking her to see comedy flicks and telling her goofy stories about his childhood that finally drew a tiny smirk out of her lips until one day they walked past a couple of lovebirds in the park and Jacen realized Tenel Ka was looking at him the exact same way the lovestruck teenager was staring at her boyfriend, even stranger was the fact he liked it. That he liked the idea of acting that stupidly in front of her, because he trusted her enough to believe she'd appreciate him even at his most vulnerable. 

Jacen had been somewhat apprehensive of introducing Tenel Ka to Uncle Luke, the man had barely seen a redhead in the past sixteen years and his not-yet labeled girlfriend's temper rivaled that of Aunt Mara's so he was afraid the older man would be too melancholy upon seeing a youth who in some ways resembled the imaginary daughter Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade never got to create. He'd almost wept in relief when his fears turned out to be exaggerated, though he didn't miss how uncle Luke stared at them when he thought they weren't looking. The stare of a man who has lost love and believes he will not find such happiness again so long as he draws breath.

Asking Tenel Ka to marry him was a spur of the moment thing, not calculated or planned. But they were a good match, they were made of the same stuff and he was certain that she'd be a wonderful adopted mother to Allana. That was the most important thing. And then came Rhiannon, a splash of color in a monochrome environment. He wasn't naive enough to claim 'love at first sight' but it was no lie to say he was fascinated by this glamorous lady that didn't talk like any upper class woman he'd ever met. With Rhiannon he could pretend to be the man he was before, it almost felt like if he closed his eyes Anakin was going to show up just around the corner. He was in love with that feeling, but not with the woman herself but he didn't think she would mind. 

Rhiannon came to him last night and kissed him. He's well versed in the language of mouth to mouth interaction: this kiss was goodbye, complete with a few tears. Come morning he overheard Maz, Chewbacca and Lando talking about how poor Rey cried herself to sleep after finding out 'Master Luke' had manipulated her feelings to trick her into going to Paris alone. Despite the fact he felt no great passion for Rhiannon it still made him angry to know his uncle did that to somebody. That's what leads him to punch Luke Skywalker when the man summons him to the office. Uncle Luke wipes the blood off his nose and moves his lips to speak.

"I deserved that so I won't hold it against you."

"How nice of you. You know uncle, I watched you do business for years... But I thought there was a limit to how sick you could- How could you stoop so low uncle? What convinced you to do something that despicable to her? She cried herself to sleep!!!"

"Desperation, tiredness at seeing your grandfather locked in a gilded cage. It doesn't matter now. What's relevant is that I want you to go to Paris with Rhiannon."

"What?!?!"

"Jacen: I screwed up everything... but I know it can be fixed. I lied to her... I confused her... but she's loved you all her life. You're what she really wants. You're what she's always wanted. Elope with her. It's not too late. I don't want her to have to leave here alone."

"What about the merger? What about Clopazine?"

"I'm going to buy as much of it as I can get my hands on. Might be illegal but desperate times call for desperate measures and I promised those patients they'd be deinstitutionalized. I keep my promises nephew."

"You'd blow 40 million dollars for this?!?"

Uncle Luke doesn't answer, he just stares at him with a grim resolution to see things through regardless of personal cost. 'She'll make you happy' his uncle is saying but Jacen Solo's lived with the man long enough to know all his tells. This particular tell is one he hasn't seen in almost seventeen years, his uncle's twisting a lock of hair. A quirk reserved for when he was unsure of how to act around aunt Mara but so in love with her that he'd jump into a volcano if that meant she'd be happy.  _Uncle Luke is in love with Rhiannon.... And he's being a masochist!!!_

"Don't worry uncle: I'm going to make sure she gets the Walt Disney cartoon ending."

 _I'm going to make sure you're both happy together._ He gets to work on bringing this idea beyond his mind.

Afternoon, same day of 1954 (Luke's POV)

No one seems to understand why he called them for this meeting. Leia's still missing but she called Han to say she was dealing with something important so he's not worried. If anything, he pities whoever tries to threaten Leia. Luke speaks with so many euphemisms his tongue is about to go numb. But Rhiannon will sail away into the sunset with the man she loves, for that girl he'd gladly cut off his nose and tongue. Finally Teneliel runs out of patience and demands to know where Jacen is and what's going on. 

"Teneliel, Isolder, Han: I have to inform you all that as of this moment my nephew Jacen-"

"Is late as usual. Hello everyone, so are we merging or what?"

_Jacen's not on the boat with Rey... How could he do this to Rhiannon!?!_

"Jacen: Why did you do it? 

"Do what?"

"Rhiannon's all alone out there." 

As expected Isolder and Teneliel both inquire as to who Rhiannon is. Han informs them she's the chaffeur's assistant, a sweet girl if there ever was one. That last part is the only reason he doesn't yell at his brother in law.

"The servant's servant is not alone, at least not according to the afternoon papers, dear uncle."   
   
Jacen pulls out a newspaper from his jacket pocket. His nephew looks smug, arrogantly confident like a man playing chess who's just stolen his opponent's queen.  
   
"It says here that 'Luke Skywalker', that's you, isn't it?  'And Rhiannon Kryze', that's she, isn't it? 'Have quietly reserved adjacent deck chairs on the Liberté, sailing today.' The whole town's buzzing about your romantic getaway, imagine Luke Skywalker running away with the chauffeur's assistant."

"You planted this on the New York times?!?!"

"Me? I would never. Rhianne or Rhion or whatever her name is probably did it. After all, she went after me for a while, but she switched to Uncle Luke. I guess it's because he's got more money.  Now we all know about those kind of girls. Believe me, gentlemen, this one is no different, just seems to be. Puts on this sweet little orphan act that fools everybody." 

"Don't talk about her like that!"

"Maybe you got smart. Or maybe you just got lucky, because you're here and she's out there. Uncle! She would have taken you for plenty." 

There are instants in which the human heart causes its hosts to abandon all shred of logic for the sake of defending those nearest to our soul, in ways that range from the absurd to the impossibly heroic. Some have said that these moments are but the fabrications of stories, an ink-mesh spun over and over until civilization forgot what life looked like without the web's persuasive filaments but Luke Skywalker Naberrie proves those psychoanalysts 100% wrong when he punches Jacen Solo in defense of Rey's virtue. Of course the moment after the deed is done said man regrets harming Jacen in any form and starts to apologize, but they were proven wrong nonetheless.  

"Jacen, I'm so sorry-"

"I was just helping you make up your mind!! You're in love with her. Is he packed?"

"Is who packed?"

"You, uncle. (Maz hands his nephew a suitcase, who in turn hands it to him.) Just one bag, travel size for your convenience. Go get her."

 _Nephew, this is a wonderful thing you're trying to do for me but I can't leave your grandfather unprotected..._ "Jacen, I can't-"

The whole room freezes at the sight of a very tall man veiled from head to toe entering the office. Luke imagines a being with telepathic abilities would probably read the same question inside all their minds right now: Who is this stranger and how did he get clearance to get here? Luke is about to buzz Miss Bant when he takes in the stranger's eyes, noticing they are the exactly the same color as his own. Could it really be possible? It's too good to be true...Hoping beyond all common sense he decides to ask anyway.

"Father?"

"Hello, my little angel. I don't like what they've done with this room. There's no glass chandelier anymore."

Without thinking Luke goes as fast as human speed allows and hugs his father. He's been striving for this moment almost two decades, Luke doesn't know who made it possible and he doesn't care. For the first time in his life Luke Cliegg Skywalker Naberrie can hug his father without a limit before they have to be separated again. This will easily transition into one of his life's fondest memories.  _Oh father..._

"Do you like your traveling gift Luke?"

It's official: he's having a severe mental breakdown. That's why he's seeing Father in the Board of Directors room and why he just heard Leia ask if he likes father's presence. That's the only way the Skywalkers could have this sort of family reunion: in an extremely realistic hallucination. (In any case, it's long overdue.) But Jacen also turned to see Anakin, his nephew is very tentatively holding out a hand to greet his grandfather. So this is real...Leia holds out a document, if her grip is anything to go by it's an olive branch as well as a declaration. But he's still not convinced, it's too convenient, too forgiving. It plays more like an elaborate prank than a truth.

"Leia, please don't do this. Please don't lie to me this way."

"It's not a lie, just an overdue  realization. Poe gave me a wake-up call. Made me realize just how unfair this whole thing was for you. So I got permission from the doctors to have Anakin live at the Manor with us from now on but since you're his primary caretaker I can't sign this on my own. (She gives him the papers she was holding.)

"It's our joint authorization for Anakin to come home. Of course Sister Tano will be with us on loan as his personal nurse..."

He's still processing the current events when Jacen hands him another document that 'Gives me the raise I deserve for the new position I'm assuming.' That would be perfect actually, to have his nephew assume his position as CEO with no in-pleasantries and for father to live with his family the way he never dared to dream of.... Luke believes he could make Rey happy, he knows that he could spend the rest of his life in a cardboard box with Rhiannon and he'd be content..He looks to his father, for so long he's been the only person with whom the old man had any familial contact with. How will Anakin take it if he goes away? He doesn't have to voice these concerns, it seems father already knows.

"Luke: I may not know much about what the world is like today but I know about love. So as a man who lost his love and would withstand all those years in Bedlam just to hold your mother again I'm ordering you to go to her, Luke. Don't think this betrays me. No father ever had a more dutiful son but it's time that you put yourself first." 

 _But  I lied to her..._ "She must absolutely hate me."

"Nonsense my son, you'll be surprised at what women are capable of forgiving."

"You all expect me to just drop everything and walk out of here?"

Han replies that running would be better, Leia tells him to stop thinking and follow his heart and Teneliel shouts that everyone's gone nuts. His nephews reminds him to sign the papers, Mara's phantom hands guide him as Luke does his John Hancock on the documents. His lost love smiles at him, it's goodbye and thank you for loving me and please be happy all at once. Luke does what he has refrained himself from doing all these long, tenuous years: he lets her go. Apparently he did it just in time to hear Jacen speak.

"There's an elevator outside, a police escort downstairs and a tugboat standing by at the pier. Get moving uncle Luke!!!!

"If you'll excuse me...It appears I have a previous engagement."

He runs, hoping that this time it's not too late for a second chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hands out tin cup: comments please???


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this is too many chapters all at once but after this week Finals start and I won't have time to write. This is the last chapter: in two to three weeks I'll post the epilogue but please guys let me study for finals..  
> Basically I take advantage of the fact that Mark Hamill sings in real life to provide a cute reunion scene.

EXT. LIBERTE DECK, May 9th 1954 (Rey's POV)

Her 'sailing outfit' reflects how she feels: depressed yet resolute to remain fashionable, unrelenting in her determination to not become one of those stuffy-nosed women with disheveled hair that wears the same petticoat for a week that shows up in the funny cartoons on the papers. At least that's how she thinks she looks wearing her dress in charcoal black silk satin, with embroidered ruffle organza skirt, fitted bodice, petal front open silk skirt, and embroidered organza ruffles embellished underskirt. She used to be sure about how these trivialities meant nothing, now she finally gets why all those heiresses go shopping after horrid events. They grow up knowing that's its important to look your best even when you feel the worst. (Granted she'll never understand how they manage to spend so much money while doing it but the concept of it is clear nonetheless.)

Lor San Tekka cried a little at the boat, she didn't tell the old man about this all being Luke's plan, pinning the blame on Jacen's soon to be in-laws. Knowing that Luke Skywalker, the man who smuggled him illegally out of India and to whom Lor owed his entire life was capable of emotional manipulation of that scale would have broken the poor man and Rey figured there were enough pedestals shattered this week. The ship's cabin is very nice, it has room service and lovely flannel sheets that keep warm and very soft chairs that are wonderful to sit in. It doesn't have Luke's supposed gifts and apology note though, she tries not to be bothered by it. After all, what's one more lie amidst a dozen falsehoods? She's not very good at lying to herself, it's proof that Poe and Finn were right: she didn't belong in the 'Papier-mâché palace' as Luke so eloquently called it. There's a reason why the fairytale princess has to stay cooped up in the castle afterwards: outside its walls the whole nobility will mock her. She's better off with the prince who is now her sole companion, woe to the peasant-turned-royalty on the day she loses his affection.

The boat's barely sailed for over thirty minutes when the Captain enters Rey's room and informs Rhiannon that she's needed on the upper deck. Captain Jarrus doesn't tell her why but secretly she hopes its because he found out that she's an engineer and wants her to check the engines after meeting the crew. That would represent a fresh start, a sign that can be more than just a pretty doll whom rich people decided to play with at her expense. There is no crew to greet her outside, in fact the entire upper deck is completely void of passengers save her and the captain? What's happening? Please, please no more tricks. Can't the United States Of America find somebody else to torment beside the Welsh orphan that ended up in Paris? Preferably that Kylo Ren fellow that stabbed Lor San Tekka or that Rush Clovis guy who called ambitious women 'terrible role models'? The captain leaves her alone on the deck, Rey twiddles her fingers for a while and proceeds to walk in her pastel yellow heel pump shoes. Walking is always a good idea for brightening the mood. Then suddenly Rey feels a rough, calloused hand on her shoulder. She closes her eyes, wanting to keep this mirage a little while longer.  _I know those hands, blast it all now I really am going to need a room at Creedmoor next to Anakin if I'm hallucinating his son's palms._

To make matters worse she feels his beard lean close to her ears and hears Luke sing. "* _Now that I've found you, hear what I have to say. One Song, I have but one song. One song, only for you. One heart, tenderly beating. Ever entreating, constant and true. One love that has possessed me. One love thrilling me through. One song my heart keeps singing. Of one love...Only for you."_

"Luke...I know this isn't real but if its not too much trouble could you please tell me I was wrong and that you love me the way I love you?"

"And why do you think this isn't real my lady knight?"

"Because this is the real world and in the real world Royals don't choose Welsh Immigrants that may or may not be illegal. In hindsight I don't think they'd be anything but miserable together."

"No, royals don't marry immigrants but an Arizona farmer who nearly lost a hand cause he broke it escaping when he got buried under canola seed in a grain truck would **_gladly_** spend the rest of his life with the woman who doesn't ask where the scar came from and instead proclaims that whole battered limb means he's strong and capable and diligent if given the chance."

_Luke never told me how he got that particular scar on his right wrist....And I never thought about how he might have gotten it._

With lightning speed Rey opens her eyes and sees Luke Skywalker Naberrie standing right behind her. The first thing she notices is the huge eye-bags that weren't there when she last saw him. Apart from his suit Luke is wearing the same thing he was last night, he's wrinkled and tired and more timid than Rey's ever seen the man. He is the most beautiful sight her eyes have ever set gaze on.  _Oh Majesty- Wait don't just fall into his arms because he sang a Disney ballad. Remember, he lied to you. He shouldn't get away with this scot free. Besides he might be here for ulterior motives, maybe he just decided tormenting you is the funniest game he's played in years..._

"What are you doing here  **Mr. Skywalker?** Making fun of me in America wasn't enough? Decided you had to do it on Europe too?!?"

"I'm not here for that."

"No? Then what are you here for? I don't have any embarrassing childhood stories left to tell you. You know more about me than Finn or Poe and even Lor San Tekka. Also: **how on Earth did you know about that song? How did you know that stupid kid's movie is the whole reason I thought you were a prince when I first saw you and decided to call you Majesty??!?** "

"I didn't know about that. It was the most romantic song I knew that didn't have any dark memories behind it. It was elegant yet simple, angelically pure yet not as naïve as people think, humble yet sophisticated. In short, I chose that silly children's song because to me it was you put into music."

Wow, just wow......that is easily the most romantic phrase she has ever heard in real life, rivaling some of the movie screenwriters as well. Dalton Trumbo or Tennessee Williams could sit down and take lessons from him on how to create a beautiful monologue. But Rhiannon Mair Kryze's already been wooed by Luke Skywalker's silver tongue before and in her heart the lies still ache deep down to the fiber of her bones. Once bitten, twice shy so the wise men always say. 

"You still haven't answered my question: what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to tell you every truth I didn't say."

"You better get started then. Trip takes eight hours, you might take twelve."

"My father didn't say he wanted to make you head of engineering that day in Creedmoor."

"And what did he really say?"

"He told me my true love was right there and I'd be the world's greatest idiot if I let you go. The rest was motivating me to tell you how I felt. And that was the biggest lie of all: me pretending I didn't care. I' ****m **hopelessly in love with you....** I  _know_ what I did was wrong Rhiannon and you have no reason to believe me but if you allow it I'll spend every waking hour in this and every life making it up to you."  _When he told me about the tickets Luke folded his hands. At the time my emotions were too frantic for me to notice but I'm looking at them now and he hasn't hidden them this whole time. They didn't twitch: He's telling the truth!!!...._

She takes hold of both his hands in that moment so she can keep tracking if Luke's words are true or not. His left hand is still gloved so without further ado she pries it off him. He's better this way and she'll break the nose of anyone who states the contrary, consequences be damned. In spite of what she'd thought Rey's mind goes back to calling him 'Majesty' because he does seem like a figure straight out of a storybook, her mind likens him to Prince Valiant* when he first looked at the fair Princess Aletha on his sickbed. Wounded gravely yet no injury compared to life's fever of love which now engulfs him, it's not the same tranquil fire he reserved for Mara. It's definitely not the laughing and symbiotic splendor Master Han shares with Mistress Leia. Should she choose him theirs will be a different sort of love, with complication some couples will never have. She can't make herself older or change her pedigree, he can't drink from some fountain of youth or make the media forget he's a SKYWALKER. It will be difficult and messy and there's no guarantee that whatever this is will end in happily ever after. But Luke says he loves her....Yet everybody 'loved' me that night at the party with my yards of silk and fancy pearl earrings. I haven't dressed the way my social status befits since Paris. _Did Luke even truly know I existed before I put on that lovely ball gown or was I just part of the Skywalker Manor's furniture the way I was for Jacen? I mean sure, we met before on the church but does he even remember that? Jacen didn't remember us roller-skating and that was an event that lasted for hours. Why should Luke recall some twenty to forty minutes where the most memorable part was him calling me interesting? How do I know Luke loves me and not my wardrobe or the second chance being with me offers him?_

"Your Majesty?"

"So we're back to that? Does this mean I'm forgiven?"

"Luke: what do you love about me?"

"I love the way lying's inconceivable to you, how you listen to people without condemning. How you chose a career you love and spit on everything that says you shouldn't be doing it. I love the way you eat with the wrong spoon and don't give a damn. But mostly I love your diamond smile lighting up the world regardless of whether you're wearing that fine Givenchy that dazzled the crowd at my birthday party or that faded purple oil-stained hand me down A-line dress that greeted me on a rainy church along with a copy of Warren B Boast's Principles of Electrical and Magnetic Fields."

Gently she smiles and Luke responds by pressing his lips to her palms, still intertwined with his. He stares at her, not surrendering but willing to accept if she rejects this offer. Rey's father had claimed she was a goddess; his last story was about the mystical Rhiannon and the king for whom she gave up the realm of fairies, both of them would fight to protect the human world together, their skills complementing one another. Korkie Kryze died in 1938 just as Adar Rhiannon was being chased by Pwyll Pen Annwn who had long fought dutifully for his kingdom and earned a lifelong friend in Lord Arawn by sleeping chastely with his wife as honor demands but had never wanted anything to love for himself until he saw the goddess in her gold silk brocade and shining white horse. Now in 1954 Adar Rhiannon, kind and resourceful lady of the sun has finally met Pwyll Pen Annwn, steadfast and valiant king of Dyfed. The story is finally finished. And just like in the myth her namesake will not relinquish the king she loves. With a slow yet meaningful kiss on the Liberte's upper deck Rhiannon Mair Kryze (hopefully Skywalker before the year is out) seals both of their fates.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *"One Song" is a song featured in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs . In the film, the Prince sings it to Snow White during their first meeting, though she hums it to herself. He later sings it again as he approaches her to kiss her, just before breaking her spell with true love's kiss.  
> *Prince Valiant is a 1954 adventure film in Technicolor and Cinemascope from 20th Century Fox, produced by Robert L. Jacks, directed by Henry Hathaway, that stars James Mason, Janet Leigh, Robert Wagner, Debra Paget, and Sterling Hayden. It premiered on January 1st, 1954. The film is based on the syndicated newspaper comic strip of the same name by Hal Foster. It is a must for swashbuckling film fans, 50s medieval fans and everyone who loves Arthurian films or just a good old fashioned happy ending.  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KlUbWNpg1os  
> So now that I finished this story AU I was thinking of other AUs for Luke/Rey. Please tell me which of these sounds like a good idea or which I should actually work on first, I'm flooding with AUs in my head:  
> a) Age of Adaline or 2015 Forever series inspired AU where instead of Rey/Adaline falling in love with someone else her grandchild (might be Poe or Finn) convinces her to start an online friendship with a stranger whom she falls in love with and decides to meet in person only to find out her internet boyfriend is Luke Skywalker: the same man fate and her 'oddity' tore her apart from 30 years ago.  
> b) Atlantis the Lost Empire AU with young archeologist Rey Kenobi and warrior Prince Luke of Atlantis (abbreviation of some long name just like in the movie) that believes she can help him save her people. Old Anakin Skywalker as the old king, Rose Tico as Audrey Ramirez, Finn as Dr. Sweet, Poe Dameron as Vinny, Han Solo as the horrible chef with a great sense of humor, Leia Organa as the sarcastic radio operator, Lor San Tekka as Mr. Whitmore, Kylo Ren as Helga and Snoke as Commander Rourke.  
> c) 'Love affair' AU (1939 movie that was remade into the Deborah Keer 1950s classic 'An Affair To Remember.)  
> d) Miracle on 34th Street AU with Luke Skywalker as the dorky cinnamon roll old-ish Santa Claus (Complains in a nice way that historically speaking the first of his 'predecessors' Saint Nicholas was in his thirties when he started this gig so really it's Coca Cola's fault that Santa is pictured as an old man.) who is here for two reasons: Restoring Christmas cheer and finding a Mrs. Claus, Rey as Han's little sister who is also an aspiring engineer/true Christmas believer that falls in love with Santa Claus, Han & Leia as the neighbors that fall in the end, Snoke as the mean psychologist, Ben Solo as Han's kid cousin/Albert and Rose & Finn both filling the role of Susan and Lando as the nice geriatrics doctor.  
> e) South Pacific AU with Rey as Nellie, Luke as Emile, Paige and Rose as the half-Asian adorable little kids, Maz Kanata as Bloody Mary, Finn as Luther Billis, Poe Dameron as Lt. Taylor and Jessika Pava as a much more developed Liat.  
> f) 13 to 30 (19 to 30 in this case) with a whole bunch of other changes to fit Rey's character.  
> g) A/B/O Tudor era with Habsburg Philip II Rey and Tudor Mary I Luke, only with a much happier ending than history.  
> h) Vampire AU (actual vampire lore with religious undertones and pondering on what it means to be humans. Not whatever sparkly creatures Stephanie Meyer called Vampires.)  
> i) 1980s Mannequin AU with Rey as the struggling artist who makes an older Mannequin her boss/old foster father that's still creepy Unkar Plutt finds 'pathetic!' so he fires her, not that she liked it there anyhow. Fond of her model anyway she rescues it from garbage and keeps 'Luke' (she calls him that way cause she's practicing for Greek on night classes)in her crappy place until her friend Poe manages to sell the unusual model to Leia Organa's 100 year old department store. The next day, after saving Leia's life and getting a job she and Finn 'Hollywood' Montrose work on a window display starring Rey's mannequin. Security guard Armitage Hux treats her rough and since it's late & she's reluctant to be a burden to anyone (Rey has self esteem issues as product of her experiences in foster care and poor) goes to hug her mannequin, thinking she's not fugly enough for an inanimate object to push away. To her enormous shock the mannequin comes alive and hugs her back.  
> Hands out tin cup: Comments please????


	17. Chapter 17

December 23th, 1954 (Leia's POV)

She should have double tasted Maz's Christmas Ham to calm down her nerves, calorie count be damned. It's the first time her brother's coming home since his wedding in August and she wants very much for him and Rey's first holiday season together to be the best. Something that all of them will coo over in the family scrapbooks with their children in the years to come. By contrast, her nerf-herder of a husband is completely laid-back and wants her to put a loss less effort in the dinner. He keeps saying that all the way to the pier where they're supposed to meet Luke and Rhiannon. The pair had spent May in Paris and Italy and Austria, Early June to Late November travelling across Latin America where Leia suspects they aided Jacobo Arbenz in overcoming the CIA's coup'd etat* to install Carlos Castillo Armas. Finn and Poe had tagged along the couple's travels in early June, Leia now has over 400 pages of incriminating evidence kept away from the United States goverment on them and Rhiannon because of course Luke chose a wife that would share the same revolutionary spirit as him.

The Skywalker Manor received more postcards in the first month of Luke and Rey's travels than it had in a decade. Her brother looked happy in those photos, as if a great burden had been eased off his shoulders. Even her baby granddaughter seemed to think Luke was at pure bliss, Allana loved Rey when they met for the wedding. (Though Leia will never understand why Rhiannon chose her Givenchy ballgown as a wedding dress instead of taking the opportunity to hire the best tailors in the country for a custom-made piece. Maybe it's a Welsh thing? But Luke and Rhiannon thought it was ideal so who was she to say otherwise? It's not like it was a bad dress..) She checks the clock, anxious for the boat to come.

"Is everything ready back at the house? I want perfection Han. Absolute perfection."

"Relax, your worshipfulness. Luke and Rey won't mind if Christmas dinner is spam with a bunch of M&Ms."

"Remind me again how we managed to stay married for over twenty years."

"Simple, you take **one look** at those phony-baloney rich men everyone wanted you to marry before and thank God he let me be born."

"Of course God failed to improve your humility."

"And you wouldn't have me any other way."

 _You're completely right about that my love but Hell's fires will freeze before I admit that to you or anyone but my private confessor._ After an eternity of waiting the New Hope ship arrives on the harbor. Han and Leia run over with everyone else to see the passengers getting off. The first familiar face they see is Finn, a spot of brown amidst white silhouettes. Really, you'd think there'd be more more black people in a luxury cruiser by now.. It's times like this Leia is proud to have a daughter participating in the budding Civil Rights movement with Reverend Martin Luther King and his church despite the fact her darling Jaina's Catholic and the Reverend is Protestant. Next comes Poe Dameron in his charming gait that would probably leave behind an army of bastard children if he wasn't riding the other side of the horse. Leia notices Poe and Finn stare at each other differently now, they seem more like awkward love-struck teenagers than childhood friends. (Well, it seems both men decided to ride backwards. She might not know how exactly that works but Leia won't judge the boys for it. Love is love regardless of how it takes form.)

At long last she catches a glimpse of her brother and sister-in law. Leia has to blink twice to recognize Luke Skywalker Naberrie. Her brother's entire demeanor has somehow de-aged an entire decade. The new Mrs. Skywalker steps right behind him, a vision of elegant happiness if there ever was one. Although Leia find Rhiannon's choice of clothing is very odd, her embroidered chiffon roses dress is lovely but it doesn't have a waistline. Is that a new European fashion? Rey herself seems blissful yet altered, almost glowing...

"Leia, come on! You spend two hours antsy for them to come and now that they're here you just stand there gaping?"

"Han? Do you think something's changed in Rey?"

"Yeah, she's a married woman now."

"How can you be so brilliant and so obtuse at the same time?"

"Don't know, don't care. Right now I just want to greet the kids."

She fondly shakes her head at him as the Solos rush to welcome Luke and Rey home. Her twin brother's hand is glove-free when she shakes it. Maybe that's why he's so unrestrained in his newfound contentment: Rey has accepted him in all his rough-spun glory. With Rhiannon he never has to hide. 

"I'm glad to see you so happy brother."

"Thanks Leia. Speaking of happiness where's my grandniece?"

"She had a runny nose. The kids stayed behind with her and Anakin who hates the pier. Something about sand?"

Luke and Rey laugh at that sentence like it was a private joke between the lovebirds and the Skywalker patriarch. Mercifully, Luke opts to spare Leia the confusion and explains that father has a longtime hatred for anything related to his desert homeland as well as the fact he used sand as part of a pick-up line. With ideas like that for charming a young, rich and intelligent young woman it's a miracle the Skywalker twins were conceived, much less born. This time it's Leia who laughs at the thought of the very tall Anakin Skywalker trying to woo tiny framed Padme Amidala and him being the nervous one in their relationship. 

Christmas dinner is an unrealistic level of good, Leia feels like they've entered one of those new-fangled Holiday Cards that show picture like drawings of happy families sharing dinner together. Everybody's smiling and when Rey calls over her friends from the household staff to eat at the family table this leads to the first time in decades that no left-overs remain. There's jokes and whimsical foreign songs that the youngest Solo-Skywalker generation was unaware of. To everyone except Luke's surprise Anakin Skywalker joins in to Han and Chewie's Russian Christmas carols, he also asks Lor San Tekka in perfect Hindi if he'd like to sing a Carol from Goa. The older woman sees the resemblance between her father and twin more clearly than ever when Anakin's response as to why he told nobody but Luke that he spoke all these languages is a cheeky 'No one else asked'.

After they've all had dinner gifts are exchanged. Leia knows Han got help from Jaina picking out presents because they're tasteful, with nothing to do with machinery. Except for Rhiannon's gift, the engineering position at the company was pure Han Solo.

Luke and Rey save Anakin's gift for last. It's a rather small box, too little for their father's usual request of books. Also, the box has no decorated wrapping paper. It's just brown paper tied together with green twine. The old man stares at the tiny package in genuine confusion. He looks to Rey for clarification but all the young woman does is gently prompt him to open the gift. 

"Luke: what on Earth did you get me son?"

"It's a surprise father. A good one. Just open it, I promise you'll love it to bits."

"You're that certain I'll like it. Best to open this miniscule box immediately. Rey dear? Can you help me with this? My fingers never quite regained their mobility after the incident."

The old man doesn't have to ask twice, Rhiannon's young yet worn by labor hands help him untangle the green twine. Leia is unsure what to expect from the couple. There's so much of her father's relationship with Luke that she's not aware of. Maybe a memento of their mother? A souvenir from their globe-trekking? What could make the Skywalker patriarch's eyes **_shine_** with happy tears once he's opened it?

Jacen gets tired of waiting and just heads over to see what they gave his grandfather. He stares at the package's interior with a look of incredulity until, finally her son holds up a baby rattle. 'Oh my Lord!!'

Leia takes a closer glance at Rey, past her non- glass figure dress. She's barely perceived the little bump protruding between her sister in law's hips before Chewie, Han and the whole house gathers around Mrs Skywalker in gleeful excitement.

After that the hours left in the day are focused on the newest member of the family. Allana requests that Rey have a baby girl. Chewie pulls the nearest people in for a bear hug. Jacen pats his uncle on the back, it's touching until he makes a joke that causes Luke to hit his nephew on the head. Anakin roams his hand over Rey's midsection and ponders whether or not he's allowed to 'touch' his grandchild till Rey takes the older man's large palm and places it on her stomach.

May 4, 1955, St. Joseph's Hospital of Long Island, New York (Rey's POV)

The baby starts its descent into the human world in a warm and sunny day that causes Rey not to notice the contractions at first. The heat clouded almost everything else in her mind. Leia is the one to notice that her pangs are no 'practice birthing'* but the honest-to God arrival of her little prince or princess. Having gone through a birth twice allows the older woman to keep a calm head and reassure Finn and Poe that no, there's no need to panic if the baby comes a few days early. Of course Threepio's mention of the twins arriving at eight months causes them to start wishing for two kids to spoil to their heart's content and the older butler exclaims that 'young people never change'. Threepio pretends that he's completely neutral, robotic in his stake towards the baby's welfare but Rey's not fooled. Nobody goes to Paris and buys a whole stack of baby clothes for a child they're 'pleasantly waiting for with no expectation'. Truthfully, part of Rhiannon would have preferred having her baby abroad at first. It was only when she saw how happy it made Anakin to be involved in a grandchild's life right from the get-go that Rey changed her mind. Luke's hug upon hearing the news was evidence of this being a good decision.

Luke himself is a mess at the hospital, unsure whether he should burst with joy or faint from the nerves. She's grateful to him for not choosing the latter as he holds her hand whilst the contractions come. (The doctor had tried to keep him out, insisting on medicine protocol* but he shut up about it once Luke handed him 500 dollars in exchange for staying in the birthing room.) Her husband had confessed in their early discussions about the future that he might not give her any biological children. As a result of caring all those years for his father, Luke was up to date with most of modern medicine's discoveries. One of these new discoveries was that more than half of the time it was a man's fault if a married couple had no children. Naturally, this medical 'theory' was denied by the majority among the earth's male population but her husband is not most men and so he'd thought that perhaps it was his fault Mara had no pregnancies.

She'd been a little frightened when the rabbit test came back positive. Most men felt that pregnancy meant 'the end of romance' and they hadn't discussed a baby beyond that one conversation. Rey fretted and paced away the brief seconds spent in waiting for her husband to come back with groceries that day. Luke's response to finding out he'd be a father was kissing her and the then-flat midsection which held their tiny angel in unabashed joy. ' Why did I compare Luke to mortal men that moment? His majesty is a class all on his own.' 

Her husband reasserts that train of thought as he replies 'of course dear' when Rey threatens that she's going to castrate him if he ever touches her below the waist. Laughs at her when Rhiannon says from now she's sleeping with a knife under the bed in case he tries anything.  
  
"I mean it Majesty. I'm never making love to you again!!!"  
  
"Goddess fair, your smile and the way you look at me is all I need for sustenance. Making love is a bonus, one I can live without if it means both of you come out of this healthy."

'Damn it Luke, how am I supposed to be furious if I know you mean that?' He wouldn't have been so blunt in public before. Luke has blossomed under her care, become more open with what he wants out of life. Her husband doesn't keep quiet and wait till affairs are done with in social circles to act anymore. Now he acts in the moment, no longer feigning to conform with what he despises. Rey would say she's proud of him for coming such a long way but she's too busy screaming for that during the eight hours of labor.

When the baby comes, red-faced and squalling and in Rey's opinion, the most wonderful of God's creations since time immemorial, the nurses tell her it's a boy. She imagines Allana's frustrated tantrum because she's tired of being the youngest girl in the family and laughs,though that might also be the drugs taking hold. Luke stares at her, all sweaty and tired and hints of vomit still in her mouth from when she threw up on the first hour of labor, but if one judged the event by his loving gaze then it seems as if he's just witnessed the Nativity. Perhaps he has in a way. Babies are in themselves a living miracle. The nurses hand Luke the baby first and Rey vows to create a non-misogynist ruled hospital even it if kills her. Said mentality gets detracted by her husband smiling as Luke gently places their little one in her arms.

"What do you want to call him your Majesty?"  
  
"Me? Mothers get first pick at baby names: you do all the work."  
  
"Is Anakin still saying we can't name the baby after him?"  
  
"Vehemently. Why don't we name him after your father instead?"  
  
"No, Korkie is a name that will get him beat up at school. I want something meaningful and pretty, like a fairy tale."  
  
"Well, then how we play with your name a little? Fate granted me the love of the Sun Goddess Rhiannon, and like us, she and king Pwyll are blessed with a son. So Pryderi like their son? He grew up to be the savior of mankind and he respects his parents, not a bad role model."  
  
"Luke, no one will know what it means."  
  
"You'll know and I'll know. That's more than enough."  
  
She tests other names out to the baby, letting him have the final say in what he'll be called the rest of his life. He seems more interested in her hair than he does with the names John or Francis or Steve. Rey tries other names, James and Lucas and Ernest. The baby's nose actually scrunches in disgust when she mentions Rian. 'All right darling, let's see if you're as crazy as me and your father.'  
  
"Pryderi."  
  
The baby's eyes stare back at her and Rey sees hazel irises gaze upon her intently. Yep, he'll fit right in with all the weirdos in this family. They let Anakin hold the baby first after parents, he refuses at first with the absurd claim that he'll drop his grandson but when Luke says that if he doesn't they'll name the boy Anakin he allows himself to carry the child. The older man cries out of joy. Han holds him second cause Finn and Poe lose to him at rock, paper, scissors. Jacen smiles and offers no ill-fitting jokes, Jaina asks if her brother is really there or if he's an alien wearing his skin as a response. Luke stays the night with her and sneaks in Pryderi at one point when the nurse has trouble getting him to sleep. She takes the blonde haired, hazel eyed cherub from her husband for a moment and starts rocking him in her arms. Luke gives in to slumber, she lets him cause a full day of Han Solo and Anakin Skywalker and all their brood clamoring for attention with a baby will drive anyone to exhaustion. The baby is calmer now but has yet to fall asleep so she tells him a bedtime story. 

"Once upon a time...on the north shore of Long Island...not far from New York...there was a very,very large mansion...in truth it was a castle. On this very large estate, there came to live a foreign girl who found work fixing chariots...and life was pleasant there...  
and very, very simple. But then one day...the girl grew up...and went beyond the walls of the grounds...and found the world."

Her prince Pryderi falls into a sleep slumber. Rey smiles and kisses her forehead as his tiny hand still keeps a hold on her hand.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *The 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état was a covert operation carried out by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) that deposed the democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz because he refused to back United Fruit Company holding 50% of the country's agricultural lands without paying taxes. The coup d'etat ended the Guatemalan Revolution of 1944–1954. Code-named Operation PB SUCCESS, it installed the military dictatorship of Carlos Castillo Armas, the first in a series of U.S.-backed authoritarian rulers in Guatemala. Hundreds of thousands were persecuted, arrested and killed during his regime. I think it's safe to say that if Luke Skywalker were real he would have interfered in something like this.  
> *1950s slang for Braxton-Hicks contractions.  
> *Men were not allowed to stay for child birth in early 20th century hospitals, instead they had a separate waiting room for themselves. This practice continued till the late 1960s.  
> Hands out tin cup: Comments please???

**Author's Note:**

> Hands out tin cup: comments please????


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